Knicks and Spurs renew Finals rivalry in 1999 rematch on ABC
The Knicks and Spurs meet in the Finals for the second time, with San Antonio hosting Game 1 and New York chasing its first title since 1973.
San Antonio and New York will reopen a Finals pairing that has shaped two different eras of the NBA, with Game 1 set for Wednesday, June 3, at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC at the Frost Bank Center. The 2026 NBA Finals will return to a matchup last seen in 1999, when the Spurs beat the Knicks in five games to claim the first championship in franchise history.
This series carries the kind of weight that reaches far beyond one market or one arena. The Knicks are chasing their first NBA title since 1973, a drought that has framed every deep run for a generation of New York fans. The Spurs, back in the Finals for the first time since 2014, arrive with a different kind of pressure: proving that their return to the league’s biggest stage is not a one-off but the start of another contender cycle.
The most immediate thread between these teams is recent, not distant. On December 16, 2025, the Knicks beat the Spurs 124-113 in Las Vegas to win the Emirates NBA Cup, and Jalen Brunson was named NBA Cup MVP. That result gave New York a tangible edge in a meeting already loaded with history, while also reminding both franchises that their paths to relevance now run through star power as much as legacy.
San Antonio reached the Finals by surviving a Game 7 against the defending champion Thunder, a hard-earned advance that sharpened the sense that this team has been forged in pressure. New York’s run has been cast by the league as its first trip to the Finals in 27 years, a milestone that restores the Knicks to a national stage they have spent decades trying to reclaim.
The full schedule stretches across seven possible games, with matchups set for June 3, 5, 8, 10, 13, 16 and 19 if needed. The NBA has built the series around a familiar but still compelling contrast: the Spurs, a small-market power with a championship pedigree, and the Knicks, a large-market brand trying to turn expectation into a banner. In a league still shaped by stars, timing and market pressure, this rematch of 1999 arrives as both history lesson and current test.
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