By Michael C. Wright, 2026-06-19 19:00:00
周六，在弗罗斯特银行中心，一面巨大的80乘60英尺的巨幅拼旗覆盖了114区，黑色背景上印着圣安东尼奥马刺队的队标。随着现场声浪达到震耳欲聋的程度，这面拼旗剧烈地抖动着。
在NBA总决赛第五场介绍首发阵容后展开的这面拼旗，以白色大写字母书写，并用圣安东尼奥嘉年华色调的黄色、橙色、绿松石色和粉色描边，上面写着：相信。
整个球队都将这一信念铭记于心。即使在1比4系列赛不敌纽约尼克斯队那令人眩晕的余波中，马刺队依然相信自己才是那支更好的球队。圣安东尼奥在NBA总决赛的每一场比赛中都曾取得过两位数的领先，但每次都在最后时刻功亏一篑，而尼克斯则捧起了他们53年来的首个总冠军。在整个系列赛中，马刺两位数领先的时间（62分21秒）比尼克斯任何幅度领先的时间（56分42秒）都要长。但在比赛决定胜负的关键时刻，那种信念却不足以支撑马刺走向胜利。
“作为一个团队，没有比我们刚刚经历过的这一切更好的经验了，”维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 说道。
尽管如此，从比赛结果和失利一方更衣室里那令人沮丧的场景来看，这依然很痛。NBA年度最佳第六人凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 含着泪，在球队最终解散进入休赛期之前，与队友们一一拍肩拥抱。圣安东尼奥深知，在这次最新失败中获得的经验，对于通往长期成功的学习过程而言，至关重要。
“我不会透露我对他们说了什么，”马刺队主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 说。“总的来说，我就是希望他们感受所有的情绪。我自己也一样。无论他们感受到什么，那都是真实的。这就是竞技精神的本质。这就是让你变得更好、推动你在无人陪伴的漫长黑夜里持续进步的动力。基本上，我们这九个月来血汗交织。现在，这一切结束了。”
或者，这标志着圣安东尼奥开启了又一段王朝之路的序幕。圣安东尼奥重新回到了全美聚光灯下，比许多人预期的更早地跻身冠军争夺者行列。自1977年的波特兰开拓者队以来，他们是闯入NBA总决赛的第二年轻的球队，而经验不足一直困扰着他们。
在主教练米奇·约翰逊执掌教鞭的这第一个完整赛季里，文班亚马、斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle)、迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 和卡特·布莱恩特组成的年轻核心，在老将达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox)、朱利安·尚帕尼和凯尔登·约翰逊的帮助下，驱动了这次冲击总决赛之旅，而这几乎是圣安东尼奥以外无人预见到的。
但总决赛也暴露了马刺的一些弱点：他们缺乏一名能在内线“扣篮位”与文班亚马搭档、为阵容增加灵活性的可靠空间型大个子就是其中之一。他们还需要一名能够消化文班亚马长时间出场带来的疲惫感的中锋，因为在整个系列赛中，卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 的出场时间从未超过10分钟。
“我们知道我们会不惜一切代价——拼命争取——回到这个位置，并取得一个不同的结果，”德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 说。“但现在，这很艰难。”
在季后赛的前三轮，马刺队对关于他们季后赛经验不足的问题置若罔闻，先后战胜开拓者、明尼苏达森林狼和卫冕冠军俄克拉荷马城雷霆，证明了质疑者是错的。他们在分区决赛中曾以2比3落后，最终逆转取胜，一时间，他们似乎有望打破球队在品尝冠军成功之前需要先经历季后赛失意的规律。
然后，总决赛给他们上了沉重的一课。文班亚马在第二场比赛末段出现致命失误，导致了一分惜败。接着，在有机会将系列赛扳成2比2平、将比赛带回圣安东尼奥进行第五场时，马刺却酿成了NBA历史上最大规模的翻盘。当尼克斯从落后29分的劣势下奋起直追，最终依靠杰伦·布伦森投篮不中后，由OG·阿努诺比在终场前1.2秒补篮得手，以107-106取得令人心碎的胜利后，马刺便再没能振作起来。
虽然那次补篮将永远成为圣安东尼奥的耻辱柱，但在那之前，马刺还有很多地方出现了问题。
在比赛还剩13.5秒、马刺领先一分时，福克斯——球队中本季前为数不多有季后赛经验的球员之一——抢到了布伦森投丢的球并冲向另一端。但他没有运球消耗时间迫使尼克斯犯规，而是直接冲击篮筐上篮，结果被阿努诺比封盖，后者随即完成补篮绝杀。
在此之前，文班亚马连续罚丢两球，这本可以让马刺取得三分领先。
输球后，文班亚马承认疲劳是一个因素。这本可以通过米奇·约翰逊教练更好的换人模式来缓解，尤其是在圣安东尼奥大比分领先的前期。文班亚马那场打了44分钟，下半场更是仅休息了58秒。文班亚马的主要替补、去年夏天以自由球员身份签下4年4100万美元合同的科内特，只打了4分钟。
“回顾那场比赛，我认为我在这方面本可以做得更好，”米奇·约翰逊说。
这一情况凸显了一个事实，即圣安东尼奥整体经验的匮乏不仅限于球员。在传奇教练格雷格·波波维奇上赛季中风后，临时接手的米奇·约翰逊正经历他作为主教练的首个完整赛季。虽然他曾在2018年作为助理教练随奥斯汀马刺赢得发展联盟冠军，但本赛季之前，他从未在NBA季后赛的教练席上坐过，更不用说担任主教练了。
与此同时，马刺队内真正有季后赛经验的球员也未能提供太多帮助。曾在2024年作为替补随波士顿凯尔特人夺冠的科内特，他在总决赛中的出场时间锐减。2015年金州勇士冠军队的关键成员哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes)，本赛季为圣安东尼奥打了77场常规赛，但在对阵尼克斯的第一和第二场比赛中总共只打了17分钟，第三到第五场更是直接被按在了板凳上。
然后是达龙·福克斯的怪异情况，他一个赛季前从萨克拉门托强行出走，来到圣安东尼奥搭档文班亚马。这位前NBA年度最佳关键球员在总决赛中场均得到12.8分，投篮命中率34.3%，三分命中率25%。在赛季最后一战——第五场的失利中，福克斯15投3中仅得7分。
在季后赛前两轮马刺取得8胜3负的战绩时，福克斯场均贡献18.8分，投篮命中率46.2%，三分命中率34.6%。在第二轮第四场比赛中，阿约·多孙穆为争抢一个地板球撞到了福克斯的腿，导致他右脚踝严重扭伤。
这次受伤使这位老将后卫缺席了分区决赛的前两场。当福克斯回归后，他在余下的季后赛中投篮命中率仅为35.3%，三分命中率更是低至24%。
“我得到了一些我过去曾投中过的投篮机会，”福克斯在马刺被淘汰后说。“有时候你就是投不进。有些投篮感觉还不错，但都是磕筐而出。显然，我真希望我投进了那些球。那支球队身体对抗很强硬。他们试图把你挡在禁区外，迫使你跳投。但对我来说，球就是没进。”
2025-26赛季的NBA季后赛仅仅是福克斯九年职业生涯中第二次参加季后赛。
这并没有平息社交媒体上要求将福克斯降为替补、让位于迪伦·哈珀的呼声。哈珀在第五场比赛中得到25分，成为了联盟历史上第六位在NBA总决赛面临淘汰时得分25分的新秀。圣安东尼奥在2025年2月交易得到福克斯，并当时已达成协议将在随后那个夏天为他提供顶薪合同，当时他们还不知道三个月后会抽中NBA选秀的2号签并选中哈珀。这位罗格斯大学的明星球员的加入，让后场人满为患。
哈珀在赛季早些时候曾对缺乏上场时间和角色表示不满，但随着赛季的深入以及这位新秀积累了更多经验，他的角色和上场时间都有所增加。
在内部，马刺仍致力于将福克斯作为其球队的基石首发控卫。消息人士称，福克斯在赛季大部分时间里都是一个镇定的存在和球队的终结者，并补充说，在一条腿基本废掉的情况下打了一个糟糕的系列赛并不会改变这一点。福克斯去年夏天签下的4年2.29亿美元的续约合同将在下赛季生效，他的薪水将从3710万美元涨到4980万美元。他预计在合同的最后一年2029-30赛季拿到6170万美元，届时他将年满32岁。
可以预见，进入下赛季，哈珀团队要求首发位置的声音会越来越大。但这并非马刺需要立刻解决的问题。在文班亚马即将到来的新秀续约合同生效之前，福克斯的合同还不至于成为眼中钉。而届时马刺还需要在下个夏天考虑为卡斯尔奉上应该会是一份顶薪的续约合同。
“以往进入过这个位置的球队，通常都拥有一群在一起磨合了一段时间的球员，”米奇·约翰逊说。“很多时候，这会在比赛最缓慢的时刻和比赛末段显现出来。这些家伙今年是第一次经历这一切。通常他们在第二年、第三年都会好得多。我们每个人都必须变得更好。无论是作为教练还是球员，都是如此。他们会继续相互了解，并且变得更好。”
随着核心阵容已经到位，且管理层认为这套阵容具备多年争冠的实力，球队的计划是保持阵容的完整，同时改善边缘配置。马刺总经理布莱恩·莱特 (Brian Wright) 多次表示，管理层在做任何重大决定前，会首先评估阵容中所有球员在文班亚马身边的适配情况。
在这方面，目前一切顺利。由文班亚马、福克斯、卡斯尔、瓦塞尔和尚帕尼组成的首发阵容，在常规赛中取得了21胜3负的战绩，这在全联盟首发阵容中排名第二，仅次于雷霆。圣安东尼奥将继续培养卡斯尔和哈珀的投篮能力，以及卡特·布莱恩特。布莱恩特在季后赛中场均上场8.5分钟，预计下赛季将作为3D锋线以及球队仅次于卡斯尔的二号防守者，扮演更突出的角色。
“我在这次季后赛征程中学到了很多，”哈珀说。“有很多可以成长的空间，有很多需要学习的东西。没有积极的态度就无法继续前进。我们输了，而我想要赢。我们得触底反弹。”
但这并无保证。
1977年，开拓者作为最年轻的球队神奇地闯入NBA总决赛后，次年在分区半决赛中以2比4落败。1995年，由年轻的沙奎尔·奥尼尔和安芬尼·哈达威率领的奥兰多魔术在总决赛中被休斯顿火箭4比0横扫，直到2009年才重返总决赛。更近的例子是，一支由凯文·杜兰特、詹姆斯·哈登和拉塞尔·威斯布鲁克领衔的年轻且天赋满满的雷霆在2012年打进总决赛。但当雷霆上赛季终于重返总决赛时，这三名球员都已在多支球队漂泊，那些遥远的记忆被尘封在雷霆球迷的后视镜中，他们聚焦的是以谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大为主角的未来。
“你希望能享受尽可能多的欢乐，但苦难也会随之而来，”科内特说。“我待过赢下总决赛和输掉总决赛的球队。老实说，能彼此分担痛苦并共同在痛苦中成长，是一次独特的机会。这样说可能很奇怪，但能在最盛大的舞台上经历这种失败和痛苦，并选择如何去回应它，这本身就是一种荣幸。这就是我们现在的处境，你甚至要对此心存感激，接受它，然后努力前行。”
在为下赛季重新装填弹药时，圣安东尼奥可以使用一名替补空间型大个子，同时也需要一名像八村塁那样，能够在更大阵容中首发并可能与文班亚马并肩作战的复合型空间型大个子。消息人士称，与文班亚马并肩作战的机会、球队的成功、文化以及整体的年轻化，让圣安东尼奥成为首选目的地，并补充说已经有多名大个子球员试图加盟南德克萨斯。
马刺拥有实现这一点的财务灵活性。福克斯是唯一年薪超过3000万美元的球员，圣安东尼奥目前比奢侈税线低4400万美元，并远低于第一和第二土豪线。马刺还将拥有1500万美元的非奢侈税中产特例和550万美元的双年特例来填补需求。考虑到随着文班亚马、卡斯尔和哈珀未来的续约，圣安东尼奥可能在未来成为一支极其昂贵的球队，现在就存在补充角色球员的紧迫性。
圣安东尼奥在即将到来的选秀中还拥有20号签，以及三个次轮签（35、42和44顺位），更不用说大量未来的选秀权选项，包括4个可交易的首轮签和14个次轮签。
在NBA总决赛结束后的第二天，文班亚马、尚帕尼、瓦塞尔和凯利·奥利尼克 (Kelly Olynyk) 四人具备了续约资格。文班亚马和尚帕尼是球队最紧迫的问题。
文班亚马很可能会签下一份5年2.51亿美元的新秀续约合同，这将成为NBA历史上最大的续约合同。由于文班亚马在2024-25赛季因伤不符合联盟荣誉评选资格，尽管他在刚刚过去的赛季赢得了年度最佳防守球员，但他目前仍无资格在续约合同的第一年获得圣安东尼奥工资帽30%的顶薪。
同样值得注意的是，马刺可以在合同的最后一个赛季加入球员选项。去年夏天，保罗·班凯罗成为了自2021年卢卡·东契奇和特雷·杨以来，首位在新秀顶薪续约合同中获得球员选项的球员。在文班亚马的合同中加入这样一个选项，将使他能在2031年27岁时成为自由球员。
与此同时，尚帕尼刚度过了一个赛季，他场均上场时间（27.6分钟）、得分（11.1分）和篮板（5.8个）均创下职业生涯新高，并连续第二个赛季打满82场比赛。这位24岁的球员还以195记三分球创下了队史单赛季纪录。尚帕尼下赛季的合同是价值300万美元的球队选项，他很可能在今年夏天获得一份更丰厚的长期合同。
球队还将寻求带回老将领袖巴恩斯，他是一名即将到期的自由球员，本赛季首发了52场比赛，之后被尚帕尼取代了首发位置。在此前的三个赛季里，巴恩斯每个赛季82场比赛全部首发。
整个总决赛期间，马刺两位数领先的时间（62分21秒）比尼克斯任何幅度领先的时间（56分42秒）都要长，但却在五场内输掉了系列赛。 Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
当尼克斯在马刺主场庆祝夺冠时，文班亚马坐在通往更衣室的黑幕后的椅子上，消化着刚刚发生的一切。与此同时，凯尔登·约翰逊戴着一顶黑色牛仔帽，身穿棕色皮夹克，站在更衣室的屏幕前。泪水仍在约翰逊眼中打转，他难以置信，他们彼此之间的信任，最终在比赛这个最盛大的舞台上被辜负了。
即使在雪茄烟雾飘过弗罗斯特银行中心的每个角落，庆祝胜利的香槟在木地板上形成一个个小水洼之后，马刺队在当晚离开主场时，依然相信自己才是那支更好的球队。
下赛季，该由他们来证明这一点了。
“我们是做到的这一切中最年轻的球队，没有经验，”尚帕尼说。“从未征战过季后赛，从未打过总决赛，没有真正的老将，或者随便人们说的什么条件。但我们还是走到了这里。说实话，我们做到了不可思议的事情。我们找到了方法。有志者，事竟成，对我们来说就是这样，我们找到了出路。我们某种程度上超越了预期。[但是]我们没有超越我们自己的预期。我们想要总冠军。”
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：The Spurs are ahead of schedule but still have work to do after NBA Finals
The Spurs are ahead of schedule but still have work to do after NBA Finals
A MASSIVE 80-BY-60-FOOT tifo, black with the San Antonio Spurs logo in the background, covered Section 114 at Frost Bank Center on Saturday, jittering wildly as the noise reached deafening levels.
Unfurled after the introduction of the starting lineups for Game 5 of the NBA Finals, the tifo, in all caps with white letters and outlined in San Antonio’s fiesta hues of yellow, orange, turquoise and pink read: BELIEVE.
The organization has taken that message to heart. Even in the dizzying aftermath of a 4-1 series loss to the New York Knicks, the Spurs still believe they were the better team. San Antonio led by double digits in every game of the NBA Finals, only to fall at the finish each time, as the Knicks captured their first championship in 53 years. The Spurs spent more time leading (62 minutes, 21 seconds) by double digits than the Knicks spent ahead by any margin (56 minutes, 42 seconds) in the series. But in the moments of truth, when the games were decided, that belief wasn’t enough to carry the Spurs to victory.
“As a team, there’s no better experience than [the one] we just lived,” Victor Wembanyama said.
Still, it hurts, as reflected by the result and the somber scene in the losing locker room, where NBA Sixth Man of the Year Keldon Johnson tearfully dapped up teammates one by one, as the squad finally broke for the summer. San Antonio understands the experience gained in this latest failure remains germane in the learning process conducive for long-term success.
“I’m not going to get into what I told them,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “The general sentiment is just I want them to feel all the emotions. I feel that, too. Whatever they feel, that’s real. That’s what competitiveness is. That’s what makes you better, what pushes you to continue to improve in the dark, long hours when nobody is around. We’ve been blood, sweat and tears for nine months, basically. It’s over.”
Or perhaps this marks the beginning of San Antonio starting another dynastic run. San Antonio finds itself back in the national spotlight, having ascended to championship contention sooner than many expected. Inexperience dogged the second-youngest team to reach the NBA Finals since the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers.
In his first full season at the helm, Johnson and the young core of Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant fueled a Finals run that few outside of San Antonio saw coming, with help from veterans De’Aaron Fox, Julian Champagnie and Johnson.
But the Finals exposed some of the Spurs’ weaknesses: Their lack of a reliable stretch big in the dunker spot to play opposite Wembanyama to add lineup flexibility being one of them. They also needed a backup center capable of eating up the minutes that exhausted Wembanyama for long stretches since Luke Kornet never played more than 10 throughout the series.
“We know we’ll do everything we can – scratch, fight – to get back into this position and have a different outcome,” Devin Vassell said. “But right now, it’s tough.”
FOR THE FIRST three rounds of the postseason, the Spurs brushed off questions about their playoff inexperience, proving their doubters wrong with wins over the Trail Blazers, Minnesota Timberwolves and defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. Their victory in the conference finals came after trailing 3-2 in the series, and for a moment it seemed they could buck the trend of teams needing to experience postseason disappointment before reaching championship success.
Then the Finals provided a heavy dose of reality. Wembanyama made critical errors at the end of Game 2, resulting in a one-point loss. Then, with a chance to deadlock the series 2-2 and head back to San Antonio for Game 5, the Spurs allowed the largest comeback in NBA history. They didn’t recover after New York rallied from a 29-point deficit to prevail on an OG Anunoby tip-in off a Jalen Brunson miss with 1.2 seconds left in a crushing 107-106 defeat.
While the tip-in will live in infamy in San Antonio, so much else went wrong for the Spurs leading up to that play.
With 13.5 seconds left and the Spurs leading by one, Fox – one of the team’s few players with playoff experience prior to this season – scooped up a Brunson miss and raced to the other end. But rather than dribbling out the clock and forcing the Knicks to foul, Fox drove directly to the basket for a layup, which was blocked by Anunoby to set up his game-winning tip.
Before that, Wembanyama missed back-to-back free throws that would’ve given the Spurs a three-point lead.
After the loss, Wembanyama admitted fatigue was a factor. That could’ve been mitigated by better substitution patterns from Johnson, especially early when San Antonio was up big. Wembanyama played 44 minutes, including all but 58 seconds of the second half. Wembanyama’s primary backup, Kornet, who signed a four-year, $41 million contract last summer as a free agent, played four minutes.
“Looking back on the game, I think I could have done better in that regard,” Johnson said.
The situation highlighted the fact that San Antonio’s collective inexperience wasn’t limited to the players. Johnson, who took over for Gregg Popovich on an interim basis after the legendary coach’s stroke last season, was in his first full campaign as head coach. While he had won a G League championship as an assistant with the Austin Spurs in 2018, he had never been on an NBA bench for a playoff game before this season, much less been the head coach for one.
Meanwhile, the Spurs who did have playoff experience weren’t much help. Kornet, who won a championship as a reserve for the Boston Celtics in 2024, saw his minutes dwindle in the Finals. Harrison Barnes, a key player on the Golden State Warriors title team of 2015 who played 77 regular-season games for San Antonio this season, played just 17 combined minutes in Games 1 and 2 against the Knicks and was benched for the entirety of Games 3 through 5.
Then there was the curious case of Fox, who had forced his way from Sacramento to San Antonio a season ago to play alongside Wembanyama. The former NBA Clutch Player of the Year averaged 12.8 points in the Finals, shooting 34.3% from the field and 25% from deep. In the season-ending Game 5 loss, Fox shot 3-of-15 for seven points.
Fox averaged 18.8 points on 46.2% shooting and 34.6% from 3-point range over the first two rounds of the playoffs as San Antonio rolled to an 8-3 record. Fox suffered a high right ankle sprain in Game 4 of the second round when Ayo Dosunmu crashed into his leg diving for a loose ball.
The injury forced the veteran guard to miss the first two games of the conference finals. When Fox returned, he shot 35.3% from the field the rest of the way and 24% from deep.
“I got shots that I’ve made in the past,” Fox said after the Spurs were eliminated. “Sometimes you don’t make them. Some of them felt good. Back rim and out. Obviously, I wish I had made those shots. That team is physical. They force you into taking jump shots trying to keep you out of the paint. But the shots didn’t go down for me.”
The 2025-26 NBA playoffs marked just the second time in Fox’s nine-year career that he had participated in the postseason.
That didn’t quiet calls on social media for Fox’s demotion in favor of Harper, who in Game 5 became the sixth rookie in league history to score 25 points when facing elimination in the NBA Finals. San Antonio traded for Fox in February 2025 with an agreement in place to sign him to a max deal later that summer before knowing it would land the No. 2 pick in the NBA lottery three months later and draft Harper. The addition of the Rutgers standout created a logjam in the backcourt.
Harper voiced displeasure earlier in the season about a lack of playing time and his role, but those increased as the season progressed and the rookie gained more experience.
Internally, the Spurs remain committed to Fox as their franchise starting point guard. Sources called Fox a calming presence and the team’s closer for most of the season, adding that one rough series essentially playing on one leg doesn’t change that. The four-year, $229 million contract extension Fox signed last summer kicks in next season, raising his salary from $37.1 million to $49.8 million. He’s scheduled to make $61.7 million in the final year of the deal in 2029-30, when he’ll be 32 years old.
It’s expected that calls from Harper’s camp for a spot in the starting lineup will grow louder going into next season. But it’s not an issue San Antonio needs to address right away. Fox’s contract won’t become a potential eyesore until after Wembanyama’s upcoming rookie extension kicks in, and when the Spurs are looking next summer to extend Castle to what should be a max deal.
“Teams that have been in this space before typically have a group of people that have played together for some time,” Johnson said. “A lot of times that shows itself in the slowest parts of the game and at the end of the game. These guys are going through that for the first time this year. They’re typically a lot better in Year 2 and Year 3. We have to get better individually. That’s as a coach and as players. They’ll continue to learn about each other and be better.”
WITH A CORE in place the front office believes is capable of title contention for several years, the club’s plan is to keep the group together while improving on the fringes. Spurs general manager Brian Wright has said on multiple occasions the front office would first evaluate how all the players on the roster fit around Wembanyama before making any major decisions.
So far, so good in that respect. The starting lineup of Wembanyama, Fox, Castle, Vassell and Champagnie finished the regular season with a 21-3 record, good for second best in the league among starting lineups behind Oklahoma City. San Antonio will continue to develop Castle and Harper as shooters, along with Bryant, who averaged 8.5 minutes in the playoffs and is expected to take on a more prominent role next season as a 3-and-D wing and the team’s second-best defender behind Castle.
“I definitely learned a lot in this playoff run,” Harper said. “A whole lot to grow on, a whole lot to learn. Can’t keep moving forward if you don’t have a positive attitude. We lost and I wanted to win. We’ve got to bounce back.”
There’s no guarantee that will happen.
After Portland made its magical run as the youngest team to reach the NBA Finals in 1977, it fell the next season 4-2 in the conference semifinals. Led by a young Shaquille O’Neal and Anfernee Hardaway in 1995, the Orlando Magic suffered a 4-0 sweep by the Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals and didn’t return until 2009. More recently, a young, talented Oklahoma City squad featuring Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook advanced to the NBA Finals in 2012. When OKC finally returned to the NBA Finals last season, all three of those players had spent time with multiple teams, distant memories trapped in the rearview mirror of a Thunder fanbase focused on a future starring Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“You hope to have as many joys as you can, but also the sufferings come with it,” Kornet said. “I’ve been on teams where we’ve won the Finals and lost the Finals. Honestly, the ability to just be with each other in the suffering and grow together in it is a unique opportunity. It’s weird to say, but it’s an honor in itself being able to experience that on the biggest stage and experience that loss and that suffering and choosing [how] you’re going to respond to it. That’s the position we’re in right now and you even have to be grateful for that, accept it and try to move forward.”
San Antonio could use a backup stretch big as it reloads for next season, and a combo stretch big man who can start and possibly play alongside Wembanyama in bigger lineups such as Rui Hachimura. The opportunity to play alongside Wembanyama, the franchise’s success, its culture and collective youth make San Antonio a preferred destination, sources said, adding that multiple big men are already trying to get to south Texas.
The Spurs possess the financial flexibility to make it happen. Fox is the only player earning more than $30 million per season, and San Antonio currently sits $44 million below the luxury tax and well below the first and second aprons. The Spurs will also have access to the $15 million non-taxpayer midlevel and $5.5 million biannual exceptions to fill needs. Considering San Antonio could become an exorbitantly pricey team in the future with extensions upcoming for Wembanyama, Castle and Harper, the urgency exists to add complementary players.
San Antonio also holds the 20th pick in the upcoming draft, as well as three second-rounders (35, 42 and 44), not to mention plenty of future draft options that include four tradable first- and 14 second-round picks.
On the day after the NBA Finals, four players became extension eligible in Wembanyama, Champagnie, Vassell and Kelly Olynyk. Wembanyama and Champagnie are the team’s most pressing concerns.
Wembanyama will likely sign a five-year, $251 million rookie extension, which would go down as the largest in NBA history. Because Wembanyama was ineligible for league honors in 2024-25 because of injuries, he’s not yet eligible to receive 30% of San Antonio’s salary cap in the first year of the extension despite him winning NBA Defensive Player of the Year this past season.
It’s also worth noting that the Spurs can include a player option in the last season of the deal. Paolo Banchero became the first player since Luka Doncic and Trae Young in 2021 to receive a player option on his rookie max extension last summer. Such an option on Wembanyama’s deal allows him to become a free agent in 2031 at age 27.
Champagnie, meanwhile, is coming off a season in which he averaged career highs in minutes (27.6), points (11.1) and rebounds (5.8) in addition to playing 82 games for the second straight season. The 24-year-old also set a franchise single-season record with 195 3-pointers. Currently on a team option next season for $3 million, Champagnie will likely receive a more lucrative long-term deal this summer.
The club will also look to bring back veteran leader Barnes, a pending free agent who started 52 games this season, before Champagnie replaced him in the starting lineup. Barnes had started all 82 games in each of the previous three seasons.
The Spurs spent more time leading (62 minutes, 21 seconds) by double digits than the Knicks spent ahead by any margin (56 minutes, 42 seconds) throughout the Finals, but lost in five games. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
As the Knicks celebrated on San Antonio’s home court after winning the title, Wembanyama sat in a chair behind a black curtain leading into the locker room processing what had just transpired. Keldon Johnson, meanwhile, wearing a black cowboy hat and brown leather jacket, stood in front of a screen in the locker room. Tears still welling in his eyes, Johnson wrestled with disbelief about how their belief in one another was finally betrayed on the game’s biggest stage.
Even after cigar smoke wafted through every nook and cranny of Frost Bank Center and celebratory champagne stood in puddles on the hardwood, the Spurs left their home floor for the night still believing they were the better team.
Next season, it’s up to them to prove it.
“We’re the youngest team to do it, no experience,” Champagnie said. “Never played in the playoffs, never played in the championship, no real vets or X, Y, Z, whatever people wanted to say. But we still got here. We did the unthinkable, honestly. We found a way. If there was a will, there was a way for us, and we figured it out. We kind of exceeded expectations. [But] we didn’t exceed our expectations. We wanted a championship.”
By Michael C. Wright, via ESPN