The 2026 NBA Finals are set — the New York Knicks against the San Antonio Spurs, a rematch of the 1999 title series 27 years in the making — and Stephen A. Smith is not about to abandon the team he has backed all the way.
Speaking on NBA on TNT's playoff coverage after the matchup was confirmed, Smith laid out exactly why the Knicks have earned their place on the game's biggest stage, even as the Spurs arrive as favorites.
"You've got a poised New York Knick team, winners of 11 straight playoff games by an average of 23.8 points, simply annihilating the competition over the last 11 games or so," Smith said. "This is what you're talking about when you talk about the New York Knicks."
He pointed to a roster that has blended star power with role clarity through a dominant run to the franchise's first Finals appearance since 1999.
"You're talking about one of the great players in the game today in Jalen Brunson, a guy in Karl-Anthony Towns that's a facilitator and a sniper from long range, with guys like OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, and others who know their roles and have played it exceptionally well," Smith said.
Smith also credited New York head coach Mike Brown, who reached the Finals as a head coach in Cleveland and won titles as an assistant. "Mike Brown, who's a championship-tested coach, is a man that's got two rings as an assistant coach. He's coached in an NBA finals before, and you know that he knows what he's doing," he said.
There was one note of concern. Backup center Mitchell Robinson, listed at 7 feet and 245 pounds, broke his pinky during the Knicks' layoff. "Somehow, someway managed to break his pinky during the week off or so that he's had. Don't get me started with that," Smith said.
For all his faith in New York, Smith did not pretend the Spurs are anything less than formidable — starting with their 22-year-old centerpiece. "They got a 7-foot-5 alien by the name of Victor Wembanyama from France, who is all-world, and he showed up in this postseason and let everybody know who he is," he said. "His supporting cast ain't shabby at all," he added, citing veterans Harrison Barnes and De'Aaron Fox alongside young studs Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell.
"They got a lot of weapons. They can win the championship," Smith conceded. "They're going to be the favorites to win the championship. But I'm not counting the New York Knicks out by a long shot."
Smith, who prides himself on calling it straight, acknowledged San Antonio's regular-season superiority. "I have to sit up there and acknowledge that the San Antonio Spurs have been the better team during the regular season. They finished with 62 wins. They are justified to be the favorites to win this championship considering the fact that they were in the better conference, and they obviously had tougher competition in the conference finals going up against OKC," he said.
Then came the loyalty. "But damn it, I ain't jumping off the ship with my New York Knicks," Smith said. "If there's a way, they will find it. I believe in Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns and the crew, and I'm sticking with the Knicks as always. Sticking with the orange and blue."
The Knicks enter the series rested and red-hot, riding the most lopsided 11-game stretch any team has carried into a Finals. The Spurs counter with the postseason's breakout force in Wembanyama and a deep, physical supporting cast that dethroned the defending-champion Thunder in a seven-game Western Conference Finals. Game 1 tips Wednesday — and Smith, for one, has already planted his flag.
