‘X’s and O’s’: The imperceptible details about the 2026 NBA Finals

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Silver and black, orange and white.

Twenty-seven years later, they meet again for a dogfight.

A full-circle moment headlines the 2025-26 NBA Finals as the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks are set to duke it out for the highly coveted Larry O’Brien championship trophy.

The last time both franchises squared off was during the 1999 NBA Finals, when Tim Duncan and San Antonio dominated the Knicks in just five games.

However, this season is definitely different from their first meeting.

With the offense now completely revolutionized, along with the rise of hybrid combo guards and forwards, expect this year’s Finals series to be as close as 50-50.

Both teams met three times during the regular season, with New York taking the slight 2-1 head-to-head advantage, including the high-stakes Emirates NBA Cup Finals victory.

Here’s a rundown of what transpired during the three games:

New York dominated the first meeting, 114-89.

The Spurs bounced back in an OT thriller, 134-132.

New York erased the Spurs’ 11-point lead, banking on a 35-19 fourth-quarter surge to claim the NBA Cup title, 124-113.

Over the three games played, two things were clear.

New York’s offense was efficient, scoring 125 points per 100 possessions against the Spurs and outrebounding them by 12 overall.

As much as I want to tackle what both teams deployed during the regular season, a lot has happened during the playoffs, and those points might be negated or even anticipated by the conference champions.

Instead of delving into strengths and weaknesses, just like my take in the past three years, here’s a different angle you need to know hours before the NBA Finals tip off.

‘NBA Finals chess match crash course’

The Spurs’ defensive strategy with Wembanyama playing as a roaming anchor.

• In the series against the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Spurs showed a reliable defensive tactic that can neutralize Jalen Brunson, just like what they did to disrupt the offensive rhythm of Anthony Edwards and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. To contain both young stars, San Antonio deployed a roaming pattern designated for Wembanyama, leaving his initial man and coming up to help on every drive and jump shot attempt. However, what makes this more lethal is the ability of the Spurs’ perimeter defenders to fill the gap Wembanyama left and contest any last-minute haymakers from the shooters at the elbow and both corners. Expect the Spurs to run those defensive schemes against the Knicks, which I think they will execute to limit Brunson’s scoring touches while letting the other guys operate on offense.

Stopping the Spurs’ side pick-and-roll

• When the Spurs steamrolled their way to a Game 6 win over OKC to force a do-or-die Game 7, head coach Mitch Johnson and the rest of the coaching staff brought out innovative adjustments to create more offensive opportunities for his young team, and one of them was putting Wembanyama as a screener on the side. The action will then progress after Stephon Castle goes hard deep into the paint, simultaneous with Julian Champagnie popping out to the top of the key and Devin Vassell slowly moving to the corner. The result? Castle now has three options: throw a lob to the rolling Wembanyama, rifle a pass to Champagnie if he gets wide open, and dish a dime to Vassell if the baseline defender helps in the paint. Can the Knicks find an immediate solution to this action if the Spurs execute it?

Spurs’ guards transition mismatch hunting

• This has slowly become a bread-and-butter play for the Spurs. Spearheaded by De’Aaron Fox, Dylan Harper, and Castle, San Antonio always pushes the ball off a quick defensive rebound and targets loopholes in the opposing team’s scrambled defense. All three backcourt threats are capable of attacking the paint, shooting off a jump stop, and locating open wingmen for a fast-break 3-pointer. This could be exploited, especially with Robinson inside replacing Towns.

The dual flare set and simultaneous cut action

• One of San Antonio’s go-to plays when it needed a bucket was this action. Wembanyama starts at the top of the key setting the initial screen, while the guys at the elbows deploy the pin-downs. The quick 1-2 action causes the opponent’s defensive priority to split, paving the way for two bright options for the roller and the wide-open shooters in both corners. This is effective, especially against a team heavily helping against a paint threat.

Alien reborn

• Just two words. Victor Wembanyama. In just his third season in the NBA, the 22-year-old phenom skyrocketed the Spurs back to the Finals after 12 years. Despite his young age and playoff inexperience, Wembanyama showed he can step up when San Antonio needs him the most. From the first round against the Portland Trail Blazers to the conference finals against OKC, he averaged 23.2 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.5 blocks, and 2.7 assists per game. Can the French superstar maintain his level of confidence against the Knicks?

After the five major talking points for the Spurs, let’s move to New York.

The redefined KAT

• Honestly, this would be the most crucial area if the Knicks want to win the title. Not Brunson’s scoring, but Karl-Anthony Towns. What about him? What makes him the most interesting piece that can help break down San Antonio? Obviously, New York became a different team when Mike Brown replaced Tom Thibodeau as head coach. From just a pick-and-pop player and a mismatch slasher, the former Sacramento Kings mentor turned him into a facilitator. After going down 2-1 against the Atlanta Hawks in the first round, the big KAT embraced a new role, which helped the Knicks get over the Eastern Conference hump and qualify for the Finals. KAT being a passer creates more offensive touches. With him navigating from the top of the key, multiple screen actions are already taking place, backed by a deceptive backdoor cut by either Mikal Bridges or Josh Hart. The responsibility Brown gave KAT not only improved his decision-making, but it also became the team’s heart and soul, especially against the 76ers and the Cavaliers. Here’s the thing: If New York decides to run its offense through KAT, Wembanyama will be taken out of the paint. What will coach Johnson do? Will he put Castle or Vassell on KAT so Wembanyama can continue playing as a roaming anchor in the paint? That’s an interesting chess match to witness.

More bodies, more goodies

• During the regular season, the Knicks proved that they aren’t willing to double Wembanyama every time, capitalizing on the strength advantage KAT and Robinson have over him. Unlike the Thunder series, where Chet Holmgren was an ultimate no-show and Isaiah Hartenstein was infamous for grabbing jerseys and pulling down Wembanyama’s shoulders, New York’s frontcourt rotation is a different breed. They can man you up, force you into bad shots, and disrupt your shots with their length. So what psychological implications can this bring to Wembanyama? Notice that in several games against OKC, the young French star still had a lot of room to improve, especially on his shot selection, post moves, and aggression timing. If NYK can get into Wembanyama’s head by avoiding doubles and putting up successive defensive stops in single-man coverage, that would be a big win for the Eastern Conference champs.

Brunson as a decoy is as deadly as a scorer

• Last year’s Jalen Brunson and this season’s version are two different players. Under coach Thibodeau, the hefty lefty played almost 39 minutes in all the playoff games, while Brown thrives on a deep bench rotation that puts him in a strict 36-minute role in the ongoing playoffs. In the conference finals, when Cleveland decided to blitz him in the last two games, Brunson focused on feeding his teammates and acting as a decoy to open up the right side. This is quite alarming for the Spurs because they still have never faced a well-oiled machine like the Knicks, who can get double digits from seven guys at any given time. Oklahoma played without Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell for the majority of the series, leaving all the offensive load to SGA. It will be interesting to see how Johnson and Sean Sweeney go through their options if the Knicks put KAT at the top of the key and Brunson acts as the flare screener.

Utilizing Josh Hart’s double-edged sword

• Whether you like it or not, Josh Hart’s presence on the court goes two ways: negative and positive. With his inconsistent shooting, teams may drag him out of the paint and force him to shoot more 3-pointers. Teams have shown they are willing to take the risk of leaving him open from downtown, but things didn’t go well when he answered the call by knocking down shots, especially during Game 2 against Cleveland, when he scored 26 points on 5-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc. However, that game was his lone offensive breakout, as he scored only 18 points in the last two games. In retrospect, the Spurs also showed a willingness to give up 3-pointers just to lock up the opponent’s primary scorer, and it was make-or-break. During the OKC series, the Spurs let Luguentz Dort and the other wings take shots just to clamp down on SGA. It did wonders, but against the Knicks, who can adjust quickly in any crucial situation, that might lead to more minutes for Landry Shamet, OG Anunoby, and Miles McBride, who are all better outside shooters than Hart. Will New York hide Hart in the dunker’s spot and force another guy to rotate outside? How will this play out?

With the following chess matches presented, one thing is certain: Both teams will surely give their A-game, given that they already have the hunger to bag the title and the youth to go more than seven games.

If KAT can sustain his embraced role and the New York bench mob shoots from the 3-point line with confidence, the Knicks can take this one in seven games.

If Wembanyama stays aggressive and doesn’t settle for sizing up taller defenders outside the paint, and if Johnson and the coaching staff deploy the necessary adjustments, specifically with how the Knicks will cover Wemby’s sweet spots, give me the Spurs in six games.

Adios, hoopers.