The New York Knicks won the 2026 NBA title by defeating the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center on Saturday.
Despite a spirited fight by the Spurs, led by Victor Wembanyama, the Knicks mounted another stirring comeback to close out the thrilling series 4-1 on the road to win their first championship in 53 years.
Doug Gottlieb Sympathizes With Victor Wembanyama While Giving Flowers to Magic Johnson, Larry Bird
In a lengthy post on X, University of Wisconsin Green Bay head coach Doug Gottlieb sympathized with Wembanyama’s first NBA Finals loss. He also argued that NBA legends Magic Johnson and Larry Bird deserve more recognition in the NBA GOAT debate, as they won on the basketball stage early in their careers.
“It isn’t that surprising that Wemby isn’t quite there to win a ring yet. MJ, LeBron, Jokic, Kobe, Shaq, Giannis, SGA, KD, Steph and Isaiah all took time to learn to win at that level. Magic won it his first year, Bird and Duncan did it in year 2,” Gottlieb wrote.
“At some point, all these talking heads need to include Magic and Bird in the GOAT discussion. They made College Hoops, saved the NBA, and had the type of competitive greatness we haven’t seen before or since.”
After facing each other in the 1979 NCAA championship game, Bird and Magic headlined the league for more than a decade with their epic rivalry for the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, respectively.
In his 13-year NBA career, Bird was a 12-time All-Star and led the Celtics to five NBA Finals and three championships before retiring as one of the greatest forwards of all time. He was also a three-time NBA MVP and two-time Finals MVP.
Johnson, on the other hand, was also a 12-time All-Star and led the Lakers to five championships. He also won three Finals MVPs and three NBA MVP awards during his storied career.
Wembanyama Rues Championship Loss
The Spurs boasted one of the youngest-ever rosters in NBA Finals history, and their inexperience showed when they squandered double-digit leads in all five games of the NBA Finals, including leading in the final two minutes in three of their four losses in the series.
The biggest collapse came in Game 4, when the Spurs exploded out of the gates to lead 76-49 at halftime before ultimately allowing the Knicks to overcome a 29-point deficit and complete the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history to win 107-106.
During his postgame news conference after the Game 5 loss, Wembanyama revealed his angst at having to wait for another chance to compete for a championship.
“What I’m pissed about is there’s probably 100 games before we can be back in the Finals,” Wembanyama said. “I’m going to have to hold that inside of me and slow down and wait and execute for 100 games.”
He also said that he’s going to learn from this loss.
“This is the biggest lesson of my life, the biggest learning moment. I can’t tell you exactly what the lesson is, but we’re learning from that, for sure. I’m learning more than any other time in my life before…” Wembanyama said. “This has been a hell of a year in terms of experience. I don’t think we could have learned more and gained more experience in one Playoff run and in one season, and personally in 18 months. It’s been hard and full of lessons… As a team, there’s no better experience than what we just lived.”
Since being selected No. 1 overall by the Spurs in the 2023 NBA Draft, Wembanyama has become one of the best players in the league while helping to turn the franchise into a legitimate contender once again.
