The Knicks-Spurs NBA Finals series was an all-time iconic showdown between league heavyweights that had it all: officiating controversies, clutch shooting, out-of-this-world defensive performances and, naturally, a healthy dose of chirpiness.
Spurs star and media darling Victor Wembanyama found himself at the center of more than a few physical incidents throughout the series which drew the wrathful ire of the Knicks’ fanbase. The normally soft-spoken center also added fuel to the fire when he proclaimed before Game 5 that the Spurs had no doubt that they would pull off the daunting 1–3 series comeback. “Everybody knows we are going to do it,” Wembanyama told reporters.
But, as fate would have it, the Spurs choked another lead and saw their title-winning dreams go out with a whimper against a tougher and more resilient Knicks side. Days after the Knicks’ championship win, Karl-Anthony Towns, who defended Wembanyama for much of the series, opened up about his experience locking down the Spurs big man across the five-game series.
Towns was asked by radio host Howard Stern whether he and Wemby ever trash-talked each other during their uber-competitive matchups.
“You know what’s crazy, I really didn’t—there was really not much trash talk,” Towns said. “There was two guys that were just so focused on competing against each other at the highest level, we really didn’t get time to speak. It was just more straight to the physicality aspect of the games.”
When probed about how he didn’t get intimidated by the league DPOY, Towns credited his early hooping years which taught him invaluable tough lessons.
“Competition has always been my driving factor,” continued Towns. “I always wanted to play against the best of the best since I was young. My dad always had me playing up in basketball, like I would be a 14-year-old playing in the U17 group. So you know, those guys are physically more mature than me, but I had to find a way to always just continue to compete.
“I think it was just great to be able to go against a player, like you said, 7'4", which I’ve almost never seen before, and then also to have the talent that he has. It was a challenge.”
.@KarlTowns called into the #SternShow to chat with Howard about the @nyknicks' NBA Finals run, playing against Victor Wembanyama, and more!
— Stern Show (@sternshow) June 16, 2026
Stream the full interview now on @siriusxm! pic.twitter.com/B51GDHHKLV
How Victor Wembanyama became the Knicks’ biggest villain during Finals series
Despite there allegedly not being any trash-talk between Wemby and KAT, the Spurs phenom still had his fair share of inflammatory in-game moments. During San Antonio’s Game 3 win, Wembanyama got away with a physical shove on Jalen Brunson that the league admitted should have been called a common foul—and many on social media believed warranted a flagrant, too.
In the following game, Wembanyama elbowed Towns in the head on an off-ball play, and his foul was upgraded to a flagrant one after review. Then, in Game 5, Wembanyama committed a clear landing-space violation while closing out Brunson’s three-pointer but no whistle was blown, escaping a flagrant and what would have been a one-game ban (Wemby would have reached four flagrant foul points this postseason which automatically triggers a suspension).
On top of all that, after the Knicks clinched the NBA title in San Antonio, Wembanyama was seen walking straight off the court without shaking any Knicks players’ hands. Spurs coach Mitch Johnson shook Brunson’s by the scorer’s table, but a seemingly frustrated Wemby immediately headed for the players’ tunnel and declined to partake in the traditional sportsmanlike postgame gesture.
As the supposed new face of the NBA, Wembanyama probably should have known better in that moment. The 22-year-old, who averaged 26.0 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.6 blocks across the Finals series, will be ruing his team’s fatal late-game mistakes and looking for ways to improve his game ahead of what he and the Spurs hope will be another title-contending season.
As for whether there’s any lingering bad blood between Wemby and the Knicks, Towns brushed that aside in a recent interview during New York’s championship press run.
“[Wembanyama’s] a once-in-a-generation player, someone that the league is honored to have, and to be able to see that kind of size and skill is something that we haven’t been able to see in a game basketball before,” Towns said.
