This is a Victor Wembanyama site, so let’s say the gracious thing first and mean it: congratulations to the New York Knicks, your 2026 NBA Champions. New York beat San Antonio 4–1 to win the franchise’s first title in 53 years — since 1973. They earned every bit of it.
Jalen Brunson, Finals MVP
Brunson was the best player in the series and it wasn’t especially close. He averaged 32.6 points across the five games and saved his best for the close: 45 points in Game 5, including 13 straight in the fourth quarter, the most a Knick has ever scored in a Finals game — breaking Willis Reed’s 38 from the 1970 Finals. “I have no words,” Brunson said on the floor afterward. “It’s everything I ever dreamed of.” Fully deserved Finals MVP.
The Comeback Knicks
What made this run remarkable: New York rallied from a double-digit deficit in all four of its wins. The signature was Game 4 — down 29 points, they came all the way back to win 107–106 on an OG Anunoby tip-in with 1.2 seconds left, the largest comeback in NBA Finals history. By comparison, erasing 16 in the Game 5 clincher looked routine. The “Nova Knicks” core of Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart — Villanova champions reunited in New York — finally got their pro title together; Bridges and Hart added 14 and 13 in the closeout.
The series, game by game
| Game | Score | Series | Top scorer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 (Jun 3) | Knicks 105–95 | NY 1–0 | Brunson 30 |
| Game 2 (Jun 5) | Knicks 105–104 | NY 2–0 | Wembanyama 29 |
| Game 3 (Jun 8) | Spurs 115–111 | NY 2–1 | Wembanyama / Brunson 32 |
| Game 4 (Jun 10) | Knicks 107–106 | NY 3–1 | Brunson 36 |
| Game 5 (Jun 13) | Knicks 94–90 | NY 4–1 | Brunson 45 |
Full box scores for every game are on the Finals hub.
From the Wemby side
For Victor Wembanyama, the first Finals of his career ends in defeat, but not in disappointment with how he played. He averaged 26.0 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.6 blocks for the series, and closed Game 5 with 19 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks even as the title slipped away. “This is the biggest lesson of my life, the biggest learning moment,” he said afterward. “I can’t tell exactly what the lesson is, but we’re learning.”
That is the right note to end on. San Antonio reached the Finals years ahead of schedule with a core — Wembanyama, Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle, De’Aaron Fox — that is barely getting started. Harper’s 25 in Game 5 was a glimpse of it. The Spurs lost the series; they did not lose the future.
But tonight belongs to New York. Enjoy the parade on Thursday — you waited 53 years for it. Congratulations, Knicks.