Jamal Crawford says the 2026 NBA Finals will come down to one thing: will. After calling the Western Conference Finals and the 2025-26 season for NBC, the 20-year NBA veteran said both teams arrive with momentum, both have strengths and weaknesses, and the real separator will be which side can impose itself when the pressure rises.
That is what makes the series so searchable today. Game 1 is set for Wednesday, June 3 at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC, and Crawford’s view gives the matchup a simple frame: the Knicks and Spurs are not just chasing a trophy, they are trying to prove they can control a Finals stage they have both been away from for a long time. New York has not been there since 1999, and Crawford said that gap alone will turn Madison Square Garden’s fan base into a force that floods the team with energy.
For Crawford, Victor Wembanyama is at the center of it all. He said the Spurs are being led by the 7-foot-4 star, who is fully in the moment and will not treat the chance lightly. But he also pointed to the first real chess move in the matchup: the Knicks should try to pull Wembanyama away from the basket as much as possible. Karl-Anthony Towns can stretch the floor, Crawford said, and if Towns drags Wembanyama out of the paint, the Spurs center cannot protect the rim and chase away 3-point looks at the same time.
That is where the series starts to twist. Crawford said San Antonio can make Wembanyama’s offense easier by getting him closer to the basket, including using a guard to set a pin-down screen when he is in the corner so he can move to the middle, the free-throw line area or straight to the rim. The Spurs also can put him in pick-and-roll actions at the top, where his height lets him see over the defense and slow the game enough to make the right read. New York, then, is trying to force him into wider ground while San Antonio is trying to build the offense around him in tight space.
The same balancing act applies to Jalen Brunson. Crawford said the Spurs will need discipline to handle him, and that it will take a group, not one defender, to do it. Part of that plan is to make Brunson spend energy on the defensive end, even if that trims some of his fuel on offense. Crawford called Brunson difficult to handle either way, which is why the Finals may tilt less on any single matchup than on which team can keep its best player comfortable longer. Towns could become a hub for New York, almost as a point-center, and Crawford said he can touch the ball often because he usually makes the right decision and is always a shooting threat.
So the opener in Wednesday night’s Finals is not just about who starts hot. It is about which team can bend the other’s best player into a harder job first. If the Knicks can pull Wembanyama away from the rim and the Spurs can keep Brunson from dictating pace, Game 1 may tell the rest of the series story before the crowd has settled in.
