The 2026 NBA Finals between the Spurs and Knicks begin Wednesday night with Game 1 in San Antonio. The oddsmakers are valuing the Spurs as a pretty decided favorite. I don't really agree. I think San Antonio wins in seven, but I wouldn't be surprised with a Knicks win at all. If the Knicks pull it off, it will be their first title since 1973 and Jalen Brunson will be elevated in New York mythology as something bordering on a god.
Meanwhile, Victor Wembanyama's legend is growing way ahead of schedule. He is, all things considered, the most impactful player in the world right now, but on any given night, Brunson can out-duel him. They are surely the two best players in this series, but after than it gets very tight very quickly with both teams boasting high-talent all the way down two of the deepest rotations in the league.
So let's rank the 10 best players in this series. It was a tough exercise. Once you get past No. 2, you can start debating seriously, and once you get past No. 5 you can basically interchange names. Here's my list. Yours may differ. It probably does. Which is why this is such a hard series to call.
1. Victor Wembanyama
All due respect to Brunson, Wemby is the best player in the series. He completely alters the geometry of the court defensively and single-handedly forces you into a heavy jump-shot diet. Good thing the Knicks are a great 3-point shooting team. They're going to need it.
Offensively, it's not quite so cut and dried with Wembanyama, who can do a bit of everything but doesn't have one go-to spot or shot to return to consistently. He isn't always able to assert himself in the paint, however his impact is always felt regardless of his shot diet. So far in these playoffs, the Spurs are +188 with Wemby on the floor and -3 when he sits.
2. Jalen Brunson
Brunson is positioned to become the most revered Knick of all time if New York can finish this championship, which would be just the third in franchise history and the first since 1973. Brunson makes the Knicks go. He's obviously not the defender that Wembanyama is, thus the lower ranking, but he's a more bankable offensive engine.
When Brunson has been off the floor, the Knicks' offense has declined by 16 points per 100 possessions in the playoffs. He'll have a tough matchup with Stephon Castle and Wemby roaming the paint behind him. He needs to get his pull-up 3-pointers back on track after shooting 4 for 22 from deep against the Cavs. I'm confident that he will. There is no tougher competitor than Brunson, who was born to perform on the biggest stages.
3. OG Anunoby
All things considered, Anunoby is New York's second-best player and arguably their most important player in this series as he has defended Wembanyama more successfully than any player in the league over the last three seasons.
Here's a prime example of why:
— Teg🚨 (@IQfor3) May 31, 2026
You can see that Anunoby is stronger that Wembanyama, and thus able to muscle him off his spots and ultimately force him to catch the pass farther from the hoop than he wants (something Isaiah Hartenstein was generally successful at in the conference finals as well). From there, Anunoby, with lower, sturdier leverage, becomes an effective brick wall as Wemby is forced into a fadeaway.
When Anunoby isn't covering Wemby, he'll be smothering someone else. All while averaging 20 points and seven boards on 57% shooting. including 48% from 3, in these playoffs. As non-superstars go, Anunoby is basically a perfect postseason player.
4. Stephon Castle
To me, Castle is San Antonio's most bankable bucket. Even more than Wemby, because Castle, if he makes up his mind, can simply force his way downhill and finish through contact playing off two feet and finishing with great strength. He's averaging 18 PPG in these playoffs and has had some huge scoring games, but it's all the other stuff he does in addition the scoring that lands him so high on this list. Against OKC, he averaged almost eight assists per game to go with five rebounds and 1.6 steals (and cut down on his turnovers once De'Aaron Fox came back).
Oh by the way, he's San Antonio's best perimeter defender. He fouls about 17 times per game by regular-season standards, but the physicality he's been allowed to play with, and will likely continue to be allowed to play with in this series, makes his ball pressure one of the most important factors in these Finals. He'll be a primary Jalen Brunson defender. and could also see time on Karl-Anthony Towns (as he did in the regular season) to allow Wembanyama to roam off Josh Hart (which we'll get to). Castle just played a major part in holding Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to 41% shooting in the conference finals.
5. Karl-Anthony Towns
If you would have Towns ranked above Castle, or maybe even Anunoby, I wouldn't argue too much with you. Towns has been stellar in these playoffs (advanced metrics have him as New York's best player, in fact) and is probably the swing player in this series for the Knicks. Nobody is going to match Wembanyama's impact, but the opposing big has to keep the gap reasonable. OKC is on vacation right now in large part because Chet Holmgren was basically a no-show.
Towns isn't going to pull a Holmgren. But how good can he be? He's averaging 19 and 11 with six assists on 57% shooting in the playoffs. The playmaking that adds yet another dimension to New York's multi-layered offense has been well chronicled, but I'm looking at Towns' ability to impact this series as a big-time scorer.
He's shooting 49% from 3 in the playoffs. He can use that to pull Wembanyama out of the paint when they're matched up, or obviously he can shoot cleanly over any of the wings that have to check him when Wemby is being deployed as a roamer.
Towns also has the straight line-strength to go through Wemby on closeouts, and post up the wings. He can offensive rebound over the smaller guys when Wemby is occupied contesting shots. Towns has to stay out of foul trouble as he'll have to guard smaller guys in space when Anunoby is on Wemby, and obviously when he's guarding Wemby it comes at the risk of fouls. But if he can remain on the floor for normal rotation patterns, he has a real chance to swing this series in New York's favor.
6. Mikal Bridges
Bridges has been out of his mind since Game 6 of the first round. Over his last nine games, he's averaging just under 19 points on 63% shooting, and that includes a 4-for-16 showing in the clincher against Cleveland.
Prior to that, Bridges had hit 67 of his previous 97 shots in becoming the only player in NBA history to average more than 15 PPG while shooting better than 65% overall, at least 50% from 3, and 100% from the free-throw line over any seven-game playoff span.
Bridges is doing this by finishing at the rim, attacking to get to his midrange pull-up spots and not by simply being a spot-up byproduct of someone else's creation. He's also defending at a top-shelf level. James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, Jalen Johnson, V.J. Edgecombe and Nickeil-Alexander Walker, all 20-point scorers, have all felt his wrath in this postseason. This is the best stretch of Bridges' career, all things considered, and it's making those five draft picks the Knicks gave up to get him a lot more forgettable.
7. Josh Hart
In a lot of ways, as Hart goes, so go the Knicks. Brunson is the best player, but Hart is the pulse of the team. He creates the lion's share of their energy and pace. He'll see time defending Wembanyama, and he'll make it hard on Wemby despite being just 6-foot-5.
Start counting how many winning plays Hart makes in this series, whether that's an offensive rebound and kick-out for a 3, or a deflection to start a fast break, or a coast-to-coast finish; you will lose track by Game 2. He's all over the place in all the right ways.
Having said all that, Hart could end up being New York's weak link if he can't make his 3s in this series. The smart money says San Antonio will start off with Wembanyama guarding Hart for the specific reason that he doesn't, in fact, have to guard Hart. He'll basically ignore him to roam as a paint protector and allow him to shoot as many 3-pointers as he likes. Unless he starts making them, as Alex Caruso did in the conference finals. At which point, everything changes.
And Hart can make them. He shot 42% from 3 in the regular season -- a number that included a piping hot 49% from the corners, where he'll be stationed a lot in the half court. Those numbers have dipped in the postseason, though, down to 31% overall and 36% from the corners. If he can connect at a rate somewhere in the middle of his regular and postseason clips, New York will take that all day.
8. Devin Vassell
You know that disappearing act by Chet Holmgren in the Western Conference Finals? That was in large part due to the defense of Vassell, who guarded Holmgren for a team-high 109.5 possessions according to NBA matchup data. Sure, having Wembanyama lurking like the shadow of a skyscraper helps, but Vassell's ability to guard any opponent, from all-world point guards (SGA had to deal with him plenty, and Brunson will, too) to seven-footers, has made him an invaluable part of San Antonio's elite defensive unit.
Lowest FG% allowed as a contesting defender in a single Postseason run since 2020:
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 2, 2026
🔒Devin Vassell: 24.3%
🔒Victor Wembanyama: 27.9%
🔒Jimmy Butler: 28.2%
(via @SportsCenter) pic.twitter.com/zYfsHUO7gH
If Wembanyama is indeed assigned to Hart to start this series, Vassell could draw the Towns assignment if Mitch Johnson opts for Castle on Brunson. If he opts for Castle on Towns for the strength factor, Vassell gets Brunson. Either way, his role is obviously huge.
In the time that Vassell does spend on Towns, if he can keep him in check and allow Wemby to keep roaming as a free safety, it'll be a problem for New York. Also, this hurts the Knicks' pick-and-roll plans as now using KAT as Brunson's screener only brings Vassell into the action, who is, as mentioned, more than capable of switching into smaller point guards and defending them with pressure in space.
Oh, by the way, Vassell is averaging just under 14 PPG in these playoffs. He had a couple 20-point games against OKC. He's shooting 39% from 3 on over six attempts a game. Even that number doesn't do justice to his knack for making big shots. This guy can pull up in the midrange and shoots the 3 with the confidence of prime Klay Thompson.
Only in a series with this much collective talent on both sides could a player this good qualify as the eighth-best player -- although, to be fair, if you were to have him as high as sixth nobody would be able to make a strong argument against you (he and Bridges are remarkably similar players; Bridges is just so damn hot right now I had to give him the edge).
9. De'Aaron Fox
Fox is right there with Castle as San Antonio's No. 2 threat on any given night, but generally speaking, he's taken a step back from his All-Star scoring days in Sacramento to do a bit of everything for the Spurs. He's defending and taking care of the ball (just seven turnovers in five games against OKC, and four of those were in one game). He's still almost impossible to stay in front of and his 3-point threat extends far beyond his down percentages in these playoffs.
Fox was huge in Game 7 against OKC. He only ended up with 15 points, but he was a lifeline for San Antonio in the first half as they struggled to create offense after a red-hot start. He hit three huge 3-pointers and added five assists and three steals. He has blended into San Antonio's star-studded backcourt seamlessly. What a luxury to have a legit 25-point scorer suddenly start filling gaps for you as your first- and second-year stud guards take on bigger roles.
10. Mitchell Robinson
You can go with a number of guys in this spot. Julian Champagnie or Keldon Johnson for the Spurs, specifically. But while the Spurs have other guys who do what Champagnie and Johnson do (although their shooting will be potentially huge in this series), Robinson provides a unique value for New York with his rim protection and elite offensive rebounding -- not to mention he's New York's only viable option to keep size on the court while KAT rests (all due respect to Ariel Hukporti).
The Knicks lead the playoffs with 17.7 second-chance points per game because their offense is so good extra opportunities is a death sentence, but they're actually getting fewer offensive rebounds than the Spurs and are devoid of a true rim protector outside of Mitchell, who will not only serve as a deterrent for all of San Antonio's physical drivers but also has a chance to clean up on the glass while Wembanyama is busy contesting shots or Luke Kornet is in the game (he Knicks really need to take advantage of the non-Wemby minutes, and Robinson factors in heavily here).
The question is: How much will the broken pinky Robinson just had surgery on affect him? Will he be able to corral rebounds with the same force? I can't imagine it will impact his particular game that much, which is good news in New York because they need Mitchell on both ends in this series. He is a big-man version of Josh Hart in that he just makes winning plays, fueling runs and energy, particularly with his offensive glass work to create kick-out 3s.
