Published June 2, 2026 12:04 AM
The last time the Spurs and Knicks met in the NBA Finals, you could not have watched highlights from the game on your iPhone — the first iPhone was eight years away. There also would have been no highlights on YouTube (2005), Twitter (2006, now X), or Instagram (2010).
Yet there are some similarities between those 1999 Finals and this year’s showdown. The Spurs are led by a big man (Tim Duncan then, Victor Wembanyama now), with quality perimeter players around them (Avery Johnson and Sean Elliott then, Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox now). The Knicks were gritty and found ways to win then, just as they do now, even if the roster makeup is a very different style (Patrick Ewing-focused rather than Jalen Brunson-focused).
