By Matt Audilet0ShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberSee more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.The 2026 NBA Finals matchup between the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks features two of the league's best players: Victor Wembanyama and Jalen Brunson.
Wembanyama was the unanimous Western Conference Finals MVP, leading the Spurs to a Game 7 victory over the reigning-champion Oklahoma City Thunder this past weekend. Brunson was unanimously awarded the Eastern Conference Finals MVP trophy after leading the Knicks to a series sweep over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
These two elite players share some mutual respect. During his NBA Finals media availability on Tuesday, Brunson delivered some serious praise for the 7-foot-4 Frenchman.
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"Watching him as a player, it's pretty unbelievable," Brunson said of Wembanyama, via Spurs insider Tom Petrini. "Things he's able to do both sides of the ball, obviously people have never really seen before, for a person of his size, so it's incredible to watch from a fan's perspective."
"As an opposing player. It's something you constantly have to be on watch for," Brunson continued. "You just never know the things that he's capable of doing, and so that's why game planning and our game-plan discipline and our attention to details are so important when it comes to playing him, because he's pretty incredible."
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Wembanyama averaged 23.2 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game through his first 17 career playoff games. Brunson averaged 26.9 points and 6.6 assists per game as the Knicks cruised their way through the Eastern Conference, winning 11 straight games en route to the NBA Finals.
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Game 1 will tipoff at 8:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
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