San Antonio embraces Spurs Finals run as Knicks feel pressure

While New York has basked in the attention of a long-awaited N.B.A. Finals run, many San Antonians have argued that the Spurs, and the city they represent, have been pushed aside in the national conversation. That grievance lands with force because San Antonio is not new to this stage: the franchise was established in 1967, arrived from the ABA as the Dallas Chaparrals in 1973, and has already won five N.B.A. championships, in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014.

The Spurs’ claim to Finals credibility is not abstract. Their first title came against the Knicks, when San Antonio edged New York 78-77 in Game 5 on June 25, 1999. More than a quarter-century later, the same matchup has returned with the Spurs back in the Finals for the first time in 12 years, and with a roster built around Victor Wembanyama, whose Game 3 performance on June 8 helped shift the series back toward San Antonio.

Wembanyama finished with 32 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the Spurs’ 115-111 victory, cutting New York’s series lead to 2-1. The loss was a sharp break for the Knicks: it ended a 13-game postseason winning streak and was their first defeat in 46 days. It also intensified the pressure around a franchise that has been carrying the weight of its own long-awaited Finals appearance, with the spotlight now split between Madison Square Garden and a Spurs team that has spent decades building a championship record of its own.

In San Antonio, the Finals have been treated like a citywide event. The team announced fan activations, free watch parties, a pep rally, giveaways and downtown gatherings around Hemisfair and other venues, turning the series into a public celebration as much as a basketball moment. Local coverage said the games were also sending more traffic to bars, restaurants, hotels and other businesses, a reminder that the Finals reach well beyond the court in a city where the team’s identity is tightly woven into civic life.

The tension has not stopped at fandom. After Game 1, the N.B.A. investigated an on-court selfie incident involving a Spurs fan. After Game 3, Knicks coach Mike Brown publicly blasted a second-half free-throw disparity, saying he had never thought he would see that in an N.B.A. Finals game. For San Antonio, the message is clear: the Spurs have been here before, and they still know how to make the league notice.