As the New York Knicks prepare for Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, head coach Mike Brown made one thing clear: his team understands the challenge ahead, but confidence in his roster has not changed.
Speaking Sunday before New York travels to San Antonio, Brown repeatedly praised the Spurs’ balance around Victor Wembanyama while defending key Knicks players, particularly OG Anunoby, whose versatility is expected to be central to the Finals matchup.
“You know, it’s going to be tough,” Brown said of San Antonio. “They’re well coached. They have a tremendous player in Wemby. They’re quote-unquote young to a certain degree, but they have some really good veterans on the team that kind of uplift the young guys and give the young guys a lot of guidance.”
Brown highlighted the Spurs’ combination of emerging stars and experienced veterans, pointing to De’Aaron Fox, Devin Vassell and Harrison Barnes as examples of a roster built to support Wembanyama. San Antonio finished the regular season 62-20, second in the Western Conference, before eliminating the Oklahoma City Thunder in seven games to reach the Finals.
“The group has been resilient the whole year,” Brown said of his Knicks. “We’ve got to keep sacrificing. We’ve got to keep playing with a competitive edge. We’ve got to stay connected. We’ve got to keep believing in each other and what we’re trying to do out on the floor.”
The Knicks enter the Finals after sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals and posting a 53-29 regular-season record. Jalen Brunson has led New York in scoring during the postseason at 26.9 points and 6.6 assists per game, while Anunoby has averaged 19.7 points on 57.7% shooting and provided defensive versatility across positions.
That defensive flexibility became a major talking point Sunday when Brown discussed the possibility of Anunoby guarding Wembanyama in certain possessions.
“OG’s extremely versatile,” Brown said. “The luxury of having a guy like that is he’s long enough, athletic enough, strong enough to guard quick smaller guys. He’s obviously got the size and athleticism to guard big wings. And then he’s got the strength and the length and the intelligence to guard bigger guys.”
Brown then turned the moment into a public endorsement for Anunoby’s defense.
“That’s why at the end of the day, I do sort of like you guys, but you guys were wrong,” Brown said with a smile. “He should have been first team on defense because of his versatility, and it’s shown throughout the course of the most important time during the year, which is the playoffs. And we’ll continue to show going into the finals.”
The matchup between Anunoby and Wembanyama could become one of the defining tactical elements of the series. Wembanyama has averaged 23.2 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in the postseason, but Brown suggested New York will rely on multiple defenders and collective discipline rather than one assignment.
Brown also acknowledged his personal ties to San Antonio, where he worked under Gregg Popovich and won a championship as an assistant, but said sentiment will not matter once the series begins.
“No, because they want to beat me and I want to kick their ass,” Brown said. “You gotta love them and you can always love them before and after.”
Game 1 of the NBA Finals is scheduled for Wednesday in San Antonio.
