The NBA Finals are finally here, and what a matchup we have.Victor Wembanyama and the upstart San Antonio Spurs vs.
Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks.One franchise is trying to reboot a dynasty; the other is starved for a long-overdue title.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Before the season, no one saw this coming, especially with the Spurs, who are led by a young core of recent draft picks, including Wembanyama, in their early 20s.
Can the youngsters carry San Antonio all the way to the title? Our Rohan Nadkarni teamed up with the NBC News graphics team to dive in and see how these Spurs compare with other recent NBA champions.We’ll be live-blogging the game tonight, so be sure to come hang with us.
We’ll have more coverage in tomorrow’s newsletter and, as always, on the NBC News website.NBA FinalsStephon Castle of the San Antonio Spurs dunks the ball during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder during Game Seven of the NBA Western Conference Finals on May 30, 2026.Jesse D.Garrabrant / NBAE via Getty ImagesIn addition to having Wembanyama, a 7-foot-4 alien who can shoot, pass, dribble and single-handedly stop elite offenses from getting to the rim, what makes the San Antonio Spurs’ run to the NBA Finals unique is that they possess what most champions typically lack: youth.When the NBA’s championship round tips off tonight, the Spurs will be looking to become the youngest finals winner in recent NBA history.NBC News analyzed the average ages of NBA champions’ playoff rotations since 2016, and San Antonio would be the youngest team to win a title — out-young-ing last year’s Oklahoma City Thunder.The Spurs rotation’s average age is 24.4, while their opponent, the New York Knicks, are coming in at a relatively ancient 28.8.Compared with the overall average championship age of 27.8, San Antonio is 3.4 years younger, while the Knicks are 1.0 years olde...