Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals arrives Wednesday night with rare historical weight, as the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks meet in a rematch 27 years after their 1999 showdown.
A team that missed the playoffs last season, the Spurs are powered by youth and a generational superstar in Victor Wembanyama. San Antonio is without question ahead of schedule as further evidenced by their preseason odds (+6600). Should they go on and win the NBA title, the Spurs will be the largest preseason underdogs to reach and win the NBA Finals in the last 40 years.
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One reason for the long odds was the injury-plagued season Wembanyama endured in 2024-25. The other was the Spurs’ overall lack of playoff experience. Wemby though has been healthy and being new to the postseason has not been a problem for the young Spurs. Although Harrison Barnes has dressed for 71 postseason games, no other Spurs’ player had played in more than 7 prior to this magical run including Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, Julian Champagnie, and Carter Bryant each of whom had never played in a single postseason game prior to the start of the 2026 playoffs.
Leon Rose did a brilliant job building this Knicks’ roster from scratch. It began in earnest with the free agent signing of Brunson a handful of years ago. He followed that home run with trades for Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges. Rose raised eyebrows with a coaching change after last season’s trip to the Conference Finals replacing Tom Thibodeau with Mike Brown but the results are obvious.
After falling to Indiana in last year’s Eastern Conference Final, the expectations for the Knicks were much greater entering this season. Needless to say, Jalen Brunson and New York met the moment. The Knicks take the court riding an historic 11‑game win streak. Their only two losses were way back in the first round and were each by a single point. New York has recorded a +271 point differential in the playoffs thus far which is the highest scoring margin in NBA history heading into the NBA Finals. Their average margin of victory is 23.8 points.
Keys to Game 1 revolve around Wembanyama. Who gets the primary assignment to try and slow him down? Anunoby has done a serviceable job at times in the past on the unicorn, but he cannot be expected to handle the 7’4” Frenchman by himself. Wembanyama’s rim protection, floor spacing, and matchup‑breaking versatility must be on display in each game if the Spurs are to overcome the experience and depth of the Knicks. The Spurs do play defense and need to do so in order to keep Brunson from dictating pace. Rebounding and three‑point shooting also loom large—New York held a +7.3 rebounding edge and +5.3 made threes per game in their regular‑season meetings with San Antonio.
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Lets take a closer look at tonight’s matchup and take into consideration lineups, injuries, and other factors affecting the line and total.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds courtesy of DraftKings recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Date: Wednesday, June 3, 2026
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Time: 8:30PM EST
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Site: Frost Bank Center
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City: San Antonio, TX
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Network/Streaming: ABC
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Read More: Expect a long Finals
The latest odds as of Tuesday courtesy of DraftKings:
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Moneyline: New York Knicks (+154), San Antonio Spurs (-185)
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Spread: Spurs -4.5
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Total: 218.5 points
This game opened Spurs -4.5 with the Game Total set at 217.5.
Be sure to check out DraftKings for all the latest game odds & player props for every matchup this week on the NBA schedule!
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PG Jalen Brunson
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SG Mikal Bridges
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C Karl-Anthony Towns
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SF Josh Hart
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PF OG Anunoby
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SG Stephon Castle
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SF Devin Vassell
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PF Julian Champagnie
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C Victor Wembanyama
Watch More: Wemby is only going to get better
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The Knicks are 36-11 on the road this season
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The Spurs are 35-15 at home this season
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The Spurs are 57-42-2 ATS this season
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The Knicks are 54-42-1 ATS this season
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The OVER has cashed in 46 of the Knicks’ 97 games this season (46-51)
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The OVER has cashed in 47 of the Spurs’ 101 games this season (47-54)
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Jalen Brunson was 4-22 (18.2%) from 3-point range in the East Final
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Josh Hart has averaged 10 rebounds in his last 4 road games
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Mikal Bridges shot 57.4% from the field (31-54) in the East Final
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De’Aaron Fox averaged 6.2 assists per game in the West Final
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Julian Champagnie averaged 7.8 attempts from beyond the arc last round and made 2.5 per game
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Dylan Harper averaged 12 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and just 1.7 turnovers per game in the West Final
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NBA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
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Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Spurs on the Moneyline
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Spread: Rotoworld Bet is staying away from a play on the Spread
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Total: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total UNDER 218.5
Player Props:
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Dylan Harper 11+ Points (-111) – cashed the last 2 games and in 9 of the last 13
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Karl-Anthony Towns 4+ Assists (-162) – cashed twice in the East Final and in all 4 games in the Second Round
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
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Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
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Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
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Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
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Trysta Krick (@Trysta_Krick)
