NBA offseason guides: Draft, free agency, trade ta...
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- New York Knicks won the 2026 NBA championship by beating the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the Finals, claiming their first title since 1973 and ending the longest title gap (53 years) in NBA history.
- The Knicks' starting five of Brunson, Bridges, Hart, Anunoby and Towns is the only team in NBA history to win a Finals-clinching game with five starters who debuted for different teams, and they joined the 2018-19 Raptors as the only champions with four starters acquired in trades, per the Elias Sports Bureau.
- Landry Shamet headlines New York's free agent priorities after shooting 11-of-12 from three in the Eastern Conference finals — the highest in any playoff series since the 3-point line was introduced in 1979-80 — while averaging 9.3 PPG on a $3.1 million non-guaranteed contract.
- Karl-Anthony Towns is eligible for a four-year, $272 million extension if he declines his $62.8 million player option for 2027-28, after averaging a career-high 5.1 assists and shooting 47.3% from three in the playoffs.
- Victor Wembanyama can sign a record five-year, $251 million rookie extension starting the day after the Finals — the largest rookie extension in NBA history — with San Antonio having $44 million of cap space and access to the full midlevel and biannual exceptions.
- The Spurs' starting lineup of Wembanyama, De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie went 21-3 in the regular season and posted a plus-18.5 net rating — the second-best starting unit in the league behind Oklahoma City.
- New York's financial picture is tight: the first year of Bridges' extension pushes the team over the luxury tax to the first apron, and they sit just $13.2 million below the second apron, where crossing it would freeze their 2034 first-round pick and restrict trade flexibility.
Why it matters: The Knicks validated a roster built almost entirely through trades rather than the draft, offering a blueprint other front offices will study. Wembanyama's $251 million extension will lock in San Antonio's title window through the 2030s, while New York's second-apron proximity — triggered in part by Bridges' deal — could force the champions to choose between retaining role players like Shamet and Robinson and preserving future trade flexibility, despite the parade.
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