On Tuesday evening, the New York Knicks hoisted their first ever NBA Cup trophy with a win over the San Antonio Spurs in a game played from Las Vegas. It was a balanced attack from a Knicks team that had previously knocked off the Orlando Magic in order to get to the final round, before dispatching the Spurs.
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Although he was on a minutes restriction, the Knicks still had to deal with Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama, and before the game, head coach Mike Brown got 100% honest on what a difficult task that would be.
“I think his intel is the same as anyone playing Wemby the night before,” Brown said, per Zach Bachar of Bleacher Report. “You go to church, get down on your knees and say a prayer to the good lord.”
Those prayers were mostly answered in the win over the Spurs, with the French superstar being forced into some bad turnovers and also mostly being confined to the perimeter on offense, where his jump shot started to cool off after the game.
It should be noted that Wembanyama was playing with a heavy heart in this game, as it was revealed after the contest that his grandmother had died earlier in the day in France.
For the Knicks, their main goal entering this NBA season was obviously not to just win the NBA Cup and be content with that, but it is a good sign of how far the team has progressed in a short amount of time in 2025.
The Knicks were a frustrating team to open up the season, unable to find ways to win games away from Madison Square Garden, but it seems that they have now put those shortcomings behind them.
The Knicks will next take the floor on Thursday night on the road for a game vs the Indiana Pacers.