Spurs-Knicks: 25 numbers to know ahead of 2026 NBA Finals

The Knicks are sure to be keyed in on slowing Victor Wembanyama in the NBA Finals.

The New York Knicks have been the most dominant playoff team in NBA history. The San Antonio Spurs have had the tougher path to get here.

Are the Knicks due for some statistical regression? Do the Spurs have enough left in the tank after a seven-game grind against the defending champs? We’re about to find out.

Here are 25 numbers to know about both teams and their paths to

the Finals

, which

tip off Wednesday night

(8:30 ET, ABC).

The basics

1.

The Knicks have outscored their opponents by

19.4 points per game

, which would be the best point differential in NBA playoff history. They’ve had both

the No. 1 offense

and

the No. 1 defense

in these playoffs, in terms of total points scored and allowed per 100 possessions, and in how they’ve performed relative to their opponents’ regular-season numbers (see below).

2.

27.6 points per 100 possessions

in the first quarter, the best playoff mark in any quarter for a team that won at least one series in the last eight years. The Spurs’

plus-26.0 in the third quarter

is the second best.

3.

The Knicks have been

the best rebounding team

in the playoffs by a wide margin, grabbing 54.8% of available rebounds. They rank third in both

offensive

defensive

rebounding percentage.

4.

The Spurs’ six wins by at least 20 points are tied for the most in NBA playoff history. The Knicks’ five wins by at least

25

points are also tied for the most in NBA playoff history.

5.

The Spurs have outscored their opponents by 8.8 points per game in the restricted area, the best differential in the playoffs. The Knicks have the third-best (plus-7.7 per game).

Spurs’ efficiency by round

Round

Opponent

OffRtg

Rank

DefRtg

AdjO

AdjD

First round

Portland

116.6

7

102.2

4

+3.1

9

-10.9

Conf. semis

Minnesota

117.9

6

102.1

3

+5.4

-13.5

2

Conf. finals

Oklahoma City

112.4

13

107.9

10

+5.9

5

-9.7

TOTAL

115.4

104.4

+5.0

-11.3

OffRtg = Points scored per 100 possessions | AdjO = OffRtg – opponent’s regular-season DefRtg | DefRtg = Points allowed per 100 possessions | AdjD = DefRtg – opponent’s regular-season OffRtg | Rank = Among every team’s numbers in each series (of 28) | Rank in totals row = Among the 16 teams

That means the Spurs had the ninth-best, seventh-best and fifth-best series of these playoffs offensively, scoring 3.1, 5.4 and 5.9 more points per 100 possessions than the Blazers, Wolves and Thunder allowed in the regular season, respectively.

Overall, San Antonio has scored 5 more and allowed 11.3 fewer points per 100 possessions than their opponents allowed/scored in the regular season (weighted for total possessions vs. each opponent).

Spurs’ offense

6.

According to Synergy tracking, 22.4% of San Antonio’s possessions have been in transition. That’s

the highest rate in the playoffs

and up from 21.3% (

fifth

) in the regular season.

7.

The Spurs have

six players

who have shot 36% or better on at least 25 3-point attempts. That’s two more than any other team, including the Knicks, who have

four

.

8.

Victor Wembanyama has a true shooting percentage of 63.6%, the best mark among 22 players who’ve averaged at least 20 points per game in the playoffs.

9.

Wembanyama has set 208 ball screens for Stephon Castle, the most for any combination in these playoffs. The Spurs have scored 1.21 points per chance when a Castle-Wembanyama pick-and-roll has led directly to a shot, turnover or trip to the line. That rate ranks second (behind Jalen Brunson-Mitchell Robinson, 1.23 per chance) among 22 combinations with at least 50 direct ball-screens. Castle’s

36 assists to Wembanyama

are the most from any player to a single teammate in these playoffs.

Spurs’ defense

10.

After scoring

126.3 points per 100 possessions

through the first two rounds (their best eight-game stretch of offense all season), the Thunder scored just

107.9 per 100

in the conference finals.

11.

The Spurs’ opponents’ effective field goal percentage (

47.8%

) and their opponents’ field goal percentage in the paint (48%) are both the lowest opponent marks for any team in the last seven postseasons (since the Milwaukee Bucks in 2019).

12.

Opponents have shot just 44-for-98 (44.9%) and 45-for-99 (45.5%) at the rim when Wembanyama and Luke Kornet have been there to protect it, respectively. Those are

the two best rim protection marks

among 14 players who’ve defended at least 50 shots at the rim in the playoffs and would be the third and fifth best marks in the last 10 years. Wembanyama’s

60 total blocks

are tied for the most for any player in a single postseason in the last 19 years (since Tim Duncan had 62 in 2007).

13.

The Spurs have allowed 4.2 corner 3-pointers per game, the

most in the playoffs

. Their opponents have taken 32% of their 3-point attempts from the corners, also the highest opponent rate.

Knicks’ efficiency by round

Atlanta

121.9

103.8

+9.0

-11.2

Philadelphia

129.1

1

106.3

+14.7

-8.0

11

Cleveland

119.6

100.3

+5.5

-18.0

123.3

103.5

+9.6

-12.3

Knicks’ offense

14.

New York has an effective field goal percentage of

59.2%

, which would be the highest mark in NBA playoff history. Among 95 players with at least 50 field-goal attempts in the playoffs, OG Anunoby (from 58.1% to 67.9%), Karl-Anthony Towns (from 55.6% to 65.2%) and Mikal Bridges (from 57.1% to 63.8%) have seen the third, fourth and eighth biggest jumps, respectively, from the regular season.

15.

They’ve averaged 16 seconds per possession, the longest rate in the playoffs. Brunson

leads the playoffs

in time of possession, though his 8.8 minutes of possession is the lowest playoff mark of his four years with the Knicks.

16.

The Knicks

lead the playoffs

with 54.8 points in the paint per 100 possessions. Their 61.8% shooting in the paint would be the third-best mark for a team with at least 200 paint attempts in the 30 postseasons for which we have shot-location data (343 total teams).

17.

Landry Shamet has shot 21-for-35 (60%) from 3-point range,

the best mark

among 84 players with at least 25 attempts. Towns (49%) and Anunoby (48%) have the fifth and seventh-best marks, respectively.

18.

Robinson has averaged 18.3% of available offensive rebounds while he’s been on the floor. That’s

the highest mark

(by a healthy margin) among 146 players who’ve averaged at least 10 minutes per game in the playoffs.

Knicks’ defense

19.

New York’s opponents have shot just

30.5% from 3-point range

, which would be the lowest opponent playoff mark with a minimum of 500 attempts (40 total teams). That includes just 32.3% on wide-open 3s, the lowest opponent playoff mark (minimum 200 attempts) in the 13 years of tracking data (51 teams).

20.

According to tracking data, the Knicks have blitzed 12.3% of ball-screens, the highest rate in the playoffs by a wide margin and up from 3.9% (16th highest) in the regular season. Brunson (18.6%), Robinson (15.5%) and Towns (14.3%) have the three highest blitz rates among 38 players who’ve been the screener’s defender on at least 75 ball-screens in the playoffs.

21.

The Knicks have allowed just 0.83 points per chance when Towns has been the screener’s defender on a ball-screen, down from 0.98 per chance in the regular season.

Who’s on the floor?

22.

The Knicks have scored 126.3 points per 100 possessions with Brunson on the floor. That’s

the highest on-court mark

on offense among 146 players who’ve averaged at least 10 minutes per game.

23.

The Knicks have had

the No. 1 bench

in the playoffs by a healthy margin, and they’ve outscored their opponents by 26.1 points per 100 possessions with Miles McBride on the floor. That’s

the best on-court mark

among 146 players who’ve averaged at least 10 minutes per game in the playoffs.

24.

The Spurs have gotten

624 minutes

from rookies (Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant). That’s the most through three rounds for a team that reached the Finals in the last 33 years (since the 1993 Phoenix Suns).

25.

Spurs opponents have taken 43% of their shots in the paint with Wembanyama on the floor and 54% of their shots in the paint with Wembanyama off the floor.

* * *

John Schuhmann has covered the NBA for more than 20 years. You can e-mail him

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