The narrative surrounding the Spurs’ surprising postseason run was how a team with so little experience could go so far. For four of their five starters, the 2026 run to the NBA Finals was their first taste of any playoff action.
The Spurs managed to mask their inexperience with dominant play over the course of three series; however, against the Knicks, their youth became too hard to ignore.
In each of the Knicks’ four victories in the Finals, the Spurs blew double-digit leads. Their hot starts were quickly extinguished by the time the second half rolled around.
The Spurs struggled the most at critical points in games. In clutch time during the playoffs, they went 3-8, including 0-5 at home. They lost all three of their home games in the Finals and blew a 29-point lead in Game 4.
Key stretches proved costly to a team that had a chance to win every game they lost in the Finals. Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle’s miscommunication at the end of Game 2, when the score was tied 104-104, turned out to be catastrophic. Wembanyama dished a pass to Castle a second too late, as Castle had turned his back and begun jogging up the court.