Victor Wembanyama is not interested in the participation trophy.
Moments after leading the San Antonio Spurs to an 111-103 Game 7 win over Oklahoma City on Saturday, the 22-year-old French phenom made it crystal clear that simply reaching the NBA Finals is not the goal. “We want four more,” Wembanyama said during the postgame celebration. “We’re not done. Go Spurs, go!”
For anyone who thought the Spurs would be satisfied just getting here, that should put the rumor to bed.
Wembanyama backed up his words by taking home Western Conference Finals MVP in a unanimous vote of the nine-member media panel. He averaged 27.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.7 blocks and 1.4 steals in the series against the defending champions. There is no precedent for this in Spurs history, and there is barely a precedent for this in NBA history at his age.
He also added an even more revealing line about his mindset. “I wanna win so bad,” Wemby said. “It’s like my life depends on it.”
That kind of energy from a generational talent is exactly what the Knicks did not need to hear.
New York rampaged through the Eastern Conference and arrives in San Antonio on an 11-game playoff winning streak. Jalen Brunson has been masterful. Karl-Anthony Towns has been the perfect second star. Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby give them the perimeter defense to compete with anyone. The Knicks have full confidence. They should.
But none of them have ever seen anything like Wembanyama in a Finals setting.
He is the youngest player in NBA history to make the All-NBA First Team and the NBA Finals in the same season. He is the 2026 Defensive Player of the Year. He just put up the kind of WCF numbers that put him in conversations with Hakeem Olajuwon and Tim Duncan. If you are New York, the scouting report has to start and end with him.
Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson has built a team around Wemby that finally feels balanced. Stephon Castle has emerged as a real offensive option. Dylan Harper, the rookie, has played well beyond his years. Devin Vassell is a reliable wing. Luke Kornet just made the play of the postseason. This is not a one-man show anymore.
Game 1 tips Wednesday night at the Frost Bank Center. The Spurs have home court because they finished 62-20 in the regular season. The Knicks finished 53-29. On paper, San Antonio is the slight favorite. Wembanyama just made sure everyone knows the Spurs see it that way too.
The last time New York reached the Finals was 1999. They lost to the Spurs in five games. That series featured Tim Duncan winning his first Finals MVP. Twenty-seven years later, the same two franchises are meeting in the same matchup, with a 22-year-old Frenchman trying to write himself into the same chapter of Spurs history.
If Wemby’s pregame energy is any indication, the Knicks are going to need every bit of their playoff momentum to find a way through.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
