The NBA Cup will have champion in vegas: Knicks y Spurs this is measured Tuesday December 16 in it T-Mobile Arena (early morning of Wednesday the 17th at 02:30 in Spain). It will be a special match also because of its fine print: It is the only one in the tournament that does not count towards the regular season classification.
But, above the format, the crossover has an irresistible historical hook: Knicks and Spurs have not met in a final since 1999when Saint Anthony raised his first ring imposing itself by 4–1. For New York, furthermore, that was its last presence in an NBA Finals until today… although what happened this morning is “another” ending, with a different weight in the record.
An unusual season: the lockout that compressed the NBA
The 1998–99 campaign was historic due to an unusual fact: a lockout that kept the league stopped for months due to the labor conflict between the NBA and the players' union, caused by disagreements over income sharing, wage control (including a stricter salary cap) and the implementation of an individual salary limit. This caused the regular season to start later than normal in addition to being reduced to 50 games per team. That compressed schedule left less preparation time, more games in a row and a different wear and tear, and favored a basketball of slower pace y more physical defenses.
The “Twin Towers” ring and a broken dream
That June was the closing of a season marked by lockout. In that more physical and low-scoring basketball landscape, the Spurs built a clear identity: defense, control and painting. The symbol was the “Twin Towers”: Tim Duncan y David Robinsona couple that turned the ring into a forbidden zone. Duncan's numbers in those Finals still sound like a sentence: 27.4 points and 14.0 rebounds on averagewith the Finals MVP in the pocket. Robinson, for his part, contributed 16.6 points and 11.8 rebounds in the series, supporting Popovich's plan through trade and intimidation to give San Antonio the first ring in its history.
Duncan and Robinson, the stars of the '99 Spurs / NBA
Opposite was the romantic story: the Knicks arrived as Eastern Round of 16 and they did it too injuredsin Patrick Ewingout for one partial Achilles tear during the playoffs. That absence left New York without its inner lighthouse on the biggest stage. Still, New Yorkers fought with what they had: Allan Houston (21.6 points on average in the series) and Latrell Sprewell (26.0) were the driving forces of a team that lived on streaks, defense and character. The series closed in Madison Square Garden with a knife ending: 78–77 in the fifth game.
De Duncan a Wembanyama; de Houston a Brunson
Twenty-six years later, the mirror returns other faces. San Antonio arrives pushed by its new generational “phenomenon.” Victor Wembanyama comes from reappearing in the semifinal (22 points in his return) to knock down Ololama City and put the Spurs in the final. Around him, the team has found points and rhythm with De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castley o Devin Vassellamong others.
The Knicks, for their part, trust in their great star, Jalen Brunson, who signed 40 points against Orlando and led the ticket to the title game. New York has not won an NBA championship since 1973 (they have passed almost 53 years), and although the NBA Cup is not the ring, the word “final” once again has weight in Manhattan.
