A sweltering muggy afternoon masked the air-conditioned chill inside Frost Bank Center as the San Antonio Spurs absorbed a 105-95 loss to the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the franchise’s first NBA Finals appearance since 2014. Victor Wembanyama finished with playoff career highs in turnovers (six) and missed shots (15).
Wembanyama said he received a text from Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich after the game but declined to share details, offering only the gist: “It was that I’ve been bad, and I’m better than this.” The performance was the third time this postseason Wembanyama shot worse than 30 percent; the Spurs are 0-3 when that has happened. He made just one of 13 attempts from more than two feet during the final three quarters of Game 1.
Despite the loss, Wembanyama expressed confidence in the team’s ability to rebound, pointing to what he called a 102-game odyssey this season filled with inflection points. “It’s very reassuring,” he said, adding that the roster’s experience overcoming obstacles this year has forged resilience and that the Spurs are not in the Finals by chance.
Two days before training camp in September, questions lingered about availability and health. Wembanyama had missed the final 36 games of the previous season because of deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. Rookie guard Dylan Harper, the No. 2 pick, had surgery 25 days before camp to repair a partially torn ligament in his shooting thumb and was considered iffy to start camp. Veteran guard De’Aaron Fox was uncertain to start camp because of a strained hamstring.
General manager Brian Wright told ESPN he believed in the group, noting the young core and names expected to improve, including “Vic, Steph [Castle], Keldon [Johnson] and Devin [Vassell]” and Julian Champagnie. At the time, Wright said the core’s growth and the addition of Fox gave the team a real chance to compete. Harper and fellow rookie Carter Bryant had not played a single NBA minute before the season began.
Coach Mitch Johnson filled in as interim coach for Popovich in November 2024 after Popovich suffered a stroke, coaching 77 games without a full staff and navigating the young Spurs through a season of unusual situations.
