Spurs-Knicks Game 1: how Brunson stole the first round
Summary
San Antonio, June 2026: the Frost Bank Center holds its breath. Sixteen months earlier, a thrombosis grounded the league's biggest hope. This season, the same man defied gravity: 62 wins, a historic trophy, a Game 7 snatched on the champion's court. Behind this takeoff? Victor Wembanyama, and a 2025-26 season that is changing the NBA's orbit.
San Antonio returns to the top: Wembanyama carried the Spurs to the 2026 NBA Finals.
Wemby's season in numbers
- Stats: 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 blocks average
- Awards: unanimous DPOY, All-NBA First Team, 3rd in MVP voting
- Spurs record: 62 wins, 20 losses, 2nd in the West
- Playoffs: Western Conference Finals MVP against OKC
- NBA Finals: ongoing series against the Knicks since June 3
From the infirmary to the stars
Rewind. February 2025: a deep vein thrombosis in the right shoulder abruptly stops Victor Wembanyama's second season. The 2.24 m giant is grounded, banned from the court, with only one question hanging — how to come back.
The answer is simple. 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 blocks average: Wemby dominated the regular season like one conquers a planet. Best shot blocker in the league for the third consecutive year, he turned every opposing paint into a no-go zone.
His only stop in the infirmary this season? A concussion in the first round of the playoffs after a fall against Portland. A missed Game 3, a respected protocol, then a return for Game 4. During his absence, his teammates erased a 15-point deficit to win without him.
Did you know?
Wembanyama is the first player since Shaquille O'Neal in 2000 to average 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks in a season. He also joins Michael Jordan and David Robinson as the only players in history to win both Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year trophies.
Unanimous DPOY: 100 out of 100 votes, unprecedented
One hundred out of one hundred. Voters all placed the Alien at the top: the first Defensive Player of the Year elected unanimously in NBA history. At 22 years old, he also becomes the youngest winner.
The rest of the haul is dizzying. A spot on the All-NBA First Team alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic, a second All-Star selection, and a third place in MVP voting in just his third NBA season. The message is clear: the race to the top will soon not be played without him.
One detail says it all. This unanimous DPOY follows a Rookie of the Year title already won unanimously in 2024. Two major trophies, two clean sweeps.
How did the Spurs topple the reigning champion?
The collective equation first. 62 wins, 20 losses, second place in the West: San Antonio hadn't made the playoffs since 2019. Around Wemby, De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle grew a team no one expected to rise so high, so fast.
Then came the ultimate test: Oklahoma City, reigning champion, in the conference finals. Over the series, the Alien averaged 27.3 points and 10.9 rebounds, scoring at least 20 points in every game. His 28-point Game 6 forced the decision — heading to a Game 7 in Oklahoma City.
On May 30, the Spurs cleared the last hurdle. 111-103 victory on the road, 22 points from Wembanyama, 20 from Julian Champagnie, and 35 from Gilgeous-Alexander in vain. In tears after the buzzer, the Frenchman lifted the Western Conference Finals MVP trophy.
The exact moment: Game 7 in Oklahoma City, told by the Spurs' official mini-movie.
NBA Finals: the rocket's last stage
The matchup has a legendary scent. Spurs-Knicks is the remake of the 1999 Finals — New York hadn't represented the East since, and San Antonio returns to the big stage for the first time since 2014. The Knicks arrive fired up, after a sweep of Cleveland in the conference finals.
The series opened Wednesday, June 3, at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio. Want a tip? Don't plan anything for your upcoming nights. At Project X Paris, we vibe to every Alien outing — and as long as the series lasts, all of Paris will stay up late.
One last push remains. The Wembanyama rocket has left the infirmary, crossed the regular season, overturned the reigning champion. The last stage now ignites, at four wins from the stars.
TAKEOFF CONFIRMED
From the February 2025 infirmary to the Finals court, Victor Wembanyama has turned his season into a launchpad. The entire NBA looks up — and the countdown has just begun.
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