The New York Knicks entered the 2026 NBA Finals believing they had an edge before the series even tipped off.
Speaking on the Roommates Show, Knicks guard Josh Hart recalled the team’s reaction after watching the San Antonio Spurs celebrate their Western Conference Finals victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. According to Hart, the emotional nature of San Antonio’s celebration immediately caught New York’s attention.
Hart said the Knicks saw Spurs players crying and celebrating extensively after clinching the West and felt they had already achieved their primary goal. His blunt assessment was that New York viewed San Antonio as “food” heading into the championship series.
The comments provide a revealing glimpse into the mindset of a Knicks team that ultimately backed up its confidence. New York defeated San Antonio 4-1 in the NBA Finals, winning the franchise’s first championship in decades and finishing off a postseason run that included a first-round victory over the Atlanta Hawks, a sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals and a sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference finals.
The Spurs’ celebration was understandable given the magnitude of what they had accomplished. San Antonio finished the regular season with a 62-20 record, second-best in the NBA behind only Oklahoma City’s 64-18 mark. They then survived a grueling seven-game Western Conference Finals against the Thunder.
After splitting the first six games, San Antonio won Game 7 in Oklahoma City, 111-103, to advance to the Finals. It was one of the franchise’s biggest postseason victories in recent years and capped a series in which the Spurs eliminated the league’s top seed.
For New York, however, the focus was entirely different.
The Knicks finished 53-29 during the regular season, third in the Eastern Conference, but entered the Finals having lost only two playoff games. They swept Cleveland in the conference finals, winning the four games by margins of 11, 16, 13 and 37 points. That left New York with additional rest and preparation time while San Antonio was battling through a physically and emotionally draining seven-game series.
Hart’s comments suggest the Knicks interpreted the Spurs’ reaction as a sign that reaching the Finals represented the culmination of San Antonio’s season rather than a step toward a larger objective.
Whether that perception was fair or not, the Finals results favored New York’s viewpoint. The Knicks won the first two games in San Antonio, including a one-point victory in Game 2, before taking three of the series’ first four contests. They clinched the title with a 94-90 victory in Game 5 on the Spurs’ home floor.
