TITLE: Spurs Sprint From 44-Win Forecast to NBA Finals Before Falling to Knicks
SLUG: spurs-soar-to-finals-then-stumble-against-knicks
CONTENT:
The San Antonio Spurs opened the 2025-26 campaign pegged for 44.5 victories. By early April, they had already surpassed that mark and ultimately closed the regular season at 62-20, the league’s second-best record.
Rapid Rise After Six Losing Years
San Antonio’s turnaround followed six consecutive seasons below .500. The club started 5-0, reached 32-16 by January 31, and finished on a 30-4 surge. That momentum was anchored by 2023 No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama, who became the first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year after leading the NBA in blocks and reshaping opponents’ offensive schemes.
When Wembanyama sat, the Spurs posted a +0.6 net rating—17th-best league-wide—and a defense that would have ranked 15th. With him on the floor, the net rating soared to +17.0, while the club’s 103.6 defensive rating outpaced the Thunder’s league-leading 106.5.
Draft Luck Fuels Youth Movement
Lottery success also accelerated the rebuild. After landing Wembanyama in 2023, San Antonio chose Stephon Castle fourth overall in 2024, then jumped from No. 8 to No. 2 in the 2025 drawing to take Dylan Harper. The team also held the 14th pick in 2025, selecting Carter Bryant.
Playoff Debut Ends in Finals Heartbreak
Making their first postseason appearance with this core, the Spurs beat Portland in five games and ousted a depleted Minnesota squad in six. They then eliminated top-seeded and defending champion Oklahoma City in a seven-game Western Conference finals classic.
The NBA Finals told a different story. New York rode a historic hot streak into the series and stole the opening two contests in San Antonio. Game 2 ended with Wembanyama turning the ball over with the score tied, then fouling Jalen Brunson, whose free throw delivered the winning margin. Wembanyama missed a potential game-winner on the next possession.
San Antonio responded with a Game 3 victory and led Game 4 by 29 points before recording the largest collapse in Finals history, losing by one in regulation. Another early advantage evaporated in Game 5, and the Knicks clinched the title 4-1 despite the Spurs leading for 72 percent of total game time.
Offseason Questions
Inexperience and late-game composure proved costly, and Wembanyama’s minutes, carefully managed all season, spiked in the playoffs, challenging his stamina. Starting guard De’Aaron Fox battled an ankle sprain that team sources said would normally sideline a player for multiple weeks, and he struggled throughout the Finals.
San Antonio now enters the 2026 offseason with a 62-20 foundation, a 22-year-old generational center, and a pressing need to transform painful lessons into postseason poise.
Source: Hoops Rumors
