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On this date in 1992, Michael Jordan lit up the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. He scored 35 points in the first half with the help of six 3-pointers. Both are finals records. Jordan gave the famous shrug after knocking down his sixth 3, probably because he’d only made 32 out of 116 (27.5 percent) that season, including the playoffs. More importantly, it led to this part of “The Last Dance” in which he lost a quarters game with a security guard and got hit backwith “the shrug.”
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Finals breakdown
The Bounce preview, and a pick, in Knicks-Spurs
The 2026 NBA Finals tip off tonight with the San Antonio Spurs hosting the New York Knicks for Game 1. This is shaping up to be a fascinating battle for the championship. We are guaranteed our eighth different champion in eight years. So what should we all expect? Let’s preview!
How did the Spurs get here? In the first round of the playoffs, the Spurs beat Portland in five games despite missing Victor Wembanyama for one game with a concussion. In the second round, the Spurs beat Minnesota in six games, despite Wembanyama being thrown out of Game 4 because of a Flagrant 2 foul. They beat the defending champion Thunder in seven games in the Western Conference finals, winning Game 7 in Oklahoma City.
How did the Knicks get here? The Knicks beat the Hawks in six games in the first round. That included their only two losses in the postseason so far, which came by a total of two points. Then they swept the 76ers in the second round and the Cavaliers in the East finals, which included a 22-point fourth-quarter comeback in Game 1. Their 11-game win streak is the fourth-longest in playoff history,
How did the season series go? Officially, they split the season series 1-1, with New York winning on New Year’s Eve and San Antonio winning on March 1. But the Knicks beat the Spurs in the NBA Cup final, so really they won the series 2-1.
What’s the best storyline? The Knicks are trying to win their first title since 1973. And the 22-year-old Wembanyama is trying to get a title in his third year, which seems like the beginning of a historic career.
What’s the big hurdle for the Spurs? Winning the 3-point battle. The Knicks have been phenomenal at denying 3-point makes in this playoff run. And they’ve been about as lethal as it gets shooting the ball from the outside. The Spurs have to find a way to curb that dominance on the perimeter.
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What’s the big hurdle for the Knicks? Finding ways to win the Wembanyama minutes. We know about trying to create a big gulf in the Luke Kornet minutes, but the Knicks can’t hope those 8-12 minutes per night will be enough to win the games. They must win with Wemby on the floor.
Key player for the Spurs: Dylan Harper. It’s a lot to ask of the rookie, but Harper has been tremendous for most of this run. One more big series will get him a ring.
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Key player for the Knicks: OG Anunoby. Yes, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns are the stars, but Anunoby will be asked to defend Wemby a lot. His ability to provide resistance to Wemby and score on the other end is crucial to their success.
Who is the favorite? Per BetMGM, the Spurs are -210 to win the championship. The Knicks are +170 to win the title.
What’s The Bounce prediction? I’ve gone back and forth a bunch of times, but I’ll roll with the Knicks in six.
Confidence in the pick? 3/10. A coward’s percentage!
The last 24
🗽 Nova Knicks. For two years, James Edwards III has been covering the Knicks. Here is what he has observed about this group.
👽 Good emotions. Wembanyama has shown he’s willing to cry and emote. We need more of it.
🏆 Logo legend. The NBA’s Script F finals logo turns 40 this year. David Aldridge has the story on how it came to be and why it still matters.
🦌 Giannis watch. The finals are in the spotlight, but the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade market lurks in the background. Here is what Sam Amick and Eric Nehm are hearing about the current suitors.
🎟 VIP only. How does one sit courtside at a Knicks’ game? Be very rich and famous.
🏀 Reputation remix. For years, Knicks owner James Dolan has been scorned by fans. A title might end that.
Stream the NBA on Fubo (try it for free!) and catch out-of-market games on League Pass.
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Looking back
So much has changed since ’99 finals
As you’ve heard plenty of times by now, the Spurs and Knicks matched up in the 1999 NBA Finals. James Jackson did a great piece on where the basketball world (and world in general) was back in 1999. I wanted to look back at that season and their respective playoff runs to see how different things are now. Remember, this finals happened after a lockout-shortened season, with the NBA cramming 50 games into three months.
The Knicks in 1999 – 27-23 | No. 8 seed in the East
26th in offensive rating (98.6) | Fourth in defensive rating (97.5)
Patrick Ewing led them in points (17.3), rebounds (9.9) and blocked shots (2.6) in the regular season. However, he partially tore his Achilles tendon in Game 2 of the conference finals. Charlie Ward was their starting point guard and averaged 7.6 points, 5.4 assists and 2.1 steals. Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell were their wings. Sprewell (20.4) and Houston (18.5) led the team in playoff scoring.
This was Sprewell’s first season with the Knicks, following his 68-game suspension for choking coach P.J. Carlesimo when they were on the Golden State Warriors. He was traded for John Starks, Terry Cummings and Chris Mills before the 1998-99 season.
The Knicks’ path to the finals was pretty tough as the No. 8 seed:
- Beat Miami in the first round (3-2): Shoutout to Houston’s winner!
- Swept Atlanta in the second round (4-0)
- Beat Indiana in the conference finals (4-2)
The 2025-26 Knicks team was third in offensive rating (119.8) and seventh in defensive rating (113.3). I believe this is where we adjust for inflation. The 1999 Knicks team made 208 3-pointers in 50 games. Brunson made 131 3-pointers in the team’s first 50 games this season. Mikal Bridges (110) and Deuce McBride (102) were also in the triple digits.
The Spurs in 1999 – 37-13 | 1st in the West
11th in offensive rating (104.0) | First in defensive rating (95.0)
Tim Duncan led them in points (21.7), rebounds (11.4) and blocked shots (2.5) in the regular season. David Robinson was second on the team in points (15.8), rebounds (10.0) and blocks (2.4). What a ridiculous big man duo. Avery Johnson was their starting point guard and averaged 9.7 points and 7.4 assists. Sean Elliott (11.2) was the only other player in double figures scoring for the season.
Duncan increased his averages in the postseason to 23.2 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocks.
Their path was fairly easy, and they made quick work of their playoff opponents:
- Beat Minnesota in the first round (3-1)
- Swept the Lakers in the second round (4-0)
- Swept Portland in the conference finals (4-0)
The 2025-26 Spurs are quite a bit different, as you’d imagine. This San Antonio team was fourth in offensive rating (119.6) and third in defensive rating (111.3). Once again, inflation and such. The 1999 Spurs made 172 3-pointers in 50 games. Julian Champagnie made 123 3-pointers in the Spurs’ first 50 games this season.
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The NBA overall in 1999
These were the league averages then compared to today.
- Offensive rating in 1999: 102.2 | In 2026: 115.8
- Pace in 1999: 88.9 | In 2026: 99.4
- Average team made 3-pointers in 1999: 223
- Players with at least 223 3-pointers in 2026: 11
- True shooting percentage in 1999: 51.1 | In 2026: 58.1
The ’99 finals
The Spurs beat the Knicks in five games to win their first of five titles with Duncan. One team cracked 90 in a game this series, and it was the Spurs winning Game 4, 96-89. The Knicks were held to 39.5 percent from the field in the series. New York failed to score 80 points three times in the five games, including the deciding 78-77 loss in Game 5. That featured Sprewell scoring 35 of their 77 points and Johnson knocking down the deciding shot with 47 seconds left.
The pace of this series was 86.7 possessions per game. To put that in perspective, the Celtics had the slowest pace in the NBA at 95.58 possessions this season.
Zebra watching
How do players rate the finals refs?
The NBA named 12 referees to officiate the finals. Here they are, in order of experience:
Scott Foster (19th season), Marc Davis (15th), Tony Brothers (15th), James Capers (14th), Zach Zarba (13th), John Goble (10th), Josh Tiven (seventh), James Williams (sixth), Courtney Kirkland (fifth), Sean Wright (third), Tyler Ford (second) and Curtis Blair (first).
Some of these names are going to elicit immediate reactions. Foster, Davis, Brothers and Goble seem to be some of the least liked officials by fans around the NBA, from my interactions and what I see on social media. But what’s interesting is seeing how the players react to these names. We have a bit of an idea. Back on May 4, the players’ union released a tier system for how players view officials.
I’ll remind you of those tiers:
According to the players in their referee survey, we have nine Tier 1 refs (Blair, Brothers, Capers, Davis, Kirkland, Tiven, Williams, Wright and Zarba). We have one Tier 2 referee (Foster). And we have two Tier 3 referees (Ford and Goble). That’s a pretty good crop of referees, according to the players.
Hopefully, we don’t notice them much the next two weeks.