One game into the NBA Finals, the loudest takeaway on national radio was not about Jalen Brunson's late takeover or the New York Knicks' road poise. It was a question about Victor Wembanyama's body. On his FS1 show The Herd, Colin Cowherd argued that the Knicks' 105-95 Game 1 win exposed a physical mismatch that San Antonio's 22-year-old superstar may not be ready to overcome in this series.
Cowherd was careful not to overreact to a single result, repeatedly noting the Spurs ran out of legs after a grueling seven-game Western Conference finals. San Antonio shot just 26% from three and went 2-of-19 from deep in the second half, airballing several open looks. But the part he kept circling back to was how often Wembanyama got moved off his spots by New York's bigger, older front line of Karl-Anthony Towns, Mitchell Robinson and OG Anunoby.
Cowherd suggested Wembanyama, still filling out his frame, looked like a skinny version of a young Giannis Antetokounmpo — a generational talent whose body needed several more seasons to match his game. He pointed out that the 7-foot-4 forward was pushed around on both ends and argued San Antonio's star may simply need another offseason and significant added strength to bang with this particular Knicks roster.
His blunt summary: he is not sure this version of Wembanyama is built to beat this Knicks front line.
Cowherd was equally pointed about the structural reasons he sees New York's run as sustainable. He noted the Knicks own the fourth quarter — their best quarter by net rating — in large part because Brunson is a dependable closer on a team-friendly contract, which lets the franchise surround him with an expensive, physical veteran front line. When the Knicks' Villanova-pipeline trio of Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart shared the floor, Cowherd said, New York was a plus-39.
He also flagged the obvious caveats. The Spurs, he conceded, generated more unguarded catch-and-shoot threes than the Knicks and will not shoot that poorly again. He expects San Antonio to lean more heavily on rookie guard Dylan Harper down the stretch in Game 2, and he warned that Brunson's two early knocks — and his 31 shot attempts — are a durability risk worth watching as the series turns physical.
Still, Cowherd's central thesis was about matchups, not effort. The NBA tends to let teams play through contact in the Finals, he argued, and that favors the side with more size and strength up front. As he put it, styles make fights — and the style on display in Game 1 belonged to New York.
For all the skepticism, Cowherd stopped short of dismissing Wembanyama's brilliance, stressing he would have voted the Spurs star MVP and acknowledging his dominance as a defender. His warning was narrower: a 22-year-old finisher who is still adding to his frame and his offensive game may need time — and reinforcements from his supporting cast — before he can physically overpower a Knicks team built, almost player for player, to push him around.
