2026 NBA Finals | Knicks vs. Spurs: Trends, Stats & Storylines

For the first time in NBA history, we're going to see our eighth different NBA Champion in just as many years.

It doesn't get any better than this. The NBA Finals is here and we've got a ton to talk about. Let's jump straight into some trends, stats and storylines.

For additional information on picks, props, money lines and more on today's NBA slate, take a look at our NBA Picks Page or our NBA Odds Page. 

Betting Odds

To Win Series: 

• New York Knicks (+170)
• San Antonio Spurs (-210)

Series Spread: 

• New York Knicks +1.5 (-125)
• San Antonio Spurs -1.5 (-105)

Total Games Played in Series: 

• Over 5.5 (-170)
• Under 5.5 (+130)

Odds via Lucky Rebel, an industry leader in the sports betting world.

Stats & Storylines

Most Valuable

• Jalen Brunson (NYK): 36.1 MPG | 26.9 PPG | 2.8 RPG | 6.6 APG
  • • East Finals: 39.6 MPG | 25.5 PPG | 3.3 RPG | 7.8 APG
• Victor Wembanyama (SAS): 32.5 MPG | 23.2 PPG | 10.8 RPG | 2.7 APG
  • • West Finals: 37.7 MPG | 27.3 PPG | 10.9 RPG | 3.1 APG

Second in Command

• Karl-Anthony Towns (NYK): 30.2 MPG | 16.9 PPG | 10.6 RPG | 5.9 APG
  • • East Finals: 34.6 MPG | 15.8 PPG | 12.0 RPG | 4.0 APG
• Stephon Castle (SAS): 33.4 MPG | 19.2 PPG | 4.9 RPG | 6.7 APG
  • • West Finals: 36.1 MPG | 18.0 PPG | 5.0 RPG | 7.6 APG

Time is a Flat Circle

The last time the New York Knicks made the NBA Finals, it was June of 1999. The Knicks finished 4th in the Atlantic Division, 8th in the Eastern Conference and still found a way to get to the NBA Finals.

Teams played just 50 games that year because of a lockout that lasted 205 days. The season would begin on February 5th, 1999 and New York's leading scorer that year was a 37 year old Patrick Ewing. Ewing would play just 11 games in the playoffs and Latrell Sprewell would lead the team with 20.4 points per game in the playoffs.

New York got all the way to the NBA Finals and ran into a San Antonio Spurs team with a seven foot phenom in just his second year. Tim Duncan averaged 21.7 points per game in the regular season that year and lead the Spurs to their first Championship in franchise history. Duncan averaged 27.4 points and 14.0 rebounds per game in the Finals and won his first (of three) Finals MVP Award.

Lastly, you know who was on that very Knicks team back in 1999? Rick Brunson, father of the Eastern Conference Finals MVP and current Assistant Coach for the Knicks.

Betting Trends

Too Hot to Handle

The Knicks are the hottest team in the NBA and what they've done over their last 11 games has been historical. New York's won 11 straight games, they are coming off back to back series sweeps and the team's averaging 126.5 points per 100 possessions during this win streak.

New York played the 6th seeded Atlanta Hawks in the first round, followed by the 8th seeded Philadelphia 76ers and a Conference Finals sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Knicks have outscored their opponents by a NBA record 271 points during this postseason run and while their opponents have been mediocre; you have to be impressed.

The team's offense has been great, but defensively they've been just as good. The Knicks rank first in defensive rating during the playoffs and they've held their opponents under 44% from the field.

Rest vs. Rust

New York's going to have 9-days off between their last game of the Conference Finals and Game 1 of the NBA Finals. They've played 14 games so far during the postseason and are easily the more rested team.

Historically, since 2002, teams playing in the second round or later are 10-3 straight up when playing with 9-days off. Majority of teams in this situation have been home teams, but three since 2002 have played on the road. All three teams won outright.

When you look at just the NBA Finals, there have been five such instances since 1990. The team team with the 9-days of rest went 4-1.

However, the Spurs present a little bit of a wrinkle. The Spurs are just the third team in NBA history to win a Conference Finals Game 7 and then be favoured by 3+ points in Game 1 of the Finals. The two others? The 2018 Warriors and 2002 Lakers; both won Game 1.

Overachievers

The Spurs come into this series as a the favorite to win it all, but let's take a second and remind ourselves that the Spurs were 66-1 to lift the Larry O'Brien this year. That means that San Antonio would set the record for longest odds win an NBA Finals and they're currently tied with last year's Indiana Pacers for longest odds to make the NBA Finals.

Last year we saw the Pacers win 50 games, upset the Cavaliers, upset the Knicks and then enter the Finals as 5-1 dogs to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Spurs come in as (-210) favourites, with home court advantage and this year's Defensive Player of the Year.

It's easy to look at the Spurs and see why they've made it this far, but at the same time; they were never supposed to be here. That being said, the Spurs are the 33rd team to enter the NBA Finals as a favorite of (-200) or greater and the previous 32 have gone 29-3 since 1990.

Oddsmakers like the Spurs going into this series and despite the lack of experience, I think I do too.

Series Prediction: Spurs Win 4-2

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