Sneaker Rivals: Spurs and Knicks Face Off in the NBA Finals

The 2026 NBA Finals will begin this Wednesday with the New York Knicks coming out of the Eastern Conference to take on the San Antonio Spurs from the Western Conference. The Knicks are arriving to the Finals fresh off two consecutive sweeps, while the Spurs just survived a hard-fought seven-game series that will likely be the first of many for years to come. It’s going to be a test of the rest or rust theory, with one team having not played in nearly 10 days, while the other will be a little tired but sharpened by the previous series.

The buzz for this Finals will be unlike anything we’ve seen in a very long time. While teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics are quite familiar with the spotlight of the Finals, the Knicks are making their first appearance since 1999. The pent-up energy New York City and its fans have been holding in their boneless Timbs since Latrell Sprewell and Allan Houston were leading an 8-seed to a shocking trip to the Finals is evident from the celebrations we’ve seen online after every successful series win.

Meanwhile, the Spurs franchise is familiar with the process, even if no one on the team was around in 2014. It’s going to be interesting to see how that will translate to not only the players but each team’s respective fandoms. It’s a battle of the big(gest) city and the small market that’s been there before much more frequently and much more recently.

Since this is Sole Retriever, our interest is going to be what sneakers will be on display both on and off the court. Every brand with a major player in the series will be expected to show out with the hot player exclusives, but we’re also going to be on the lookout for what the famous fans from both squads will be rocking.

The New York factor cannot be underestimated because those games at Madison Square are going to be the hottest tickets possibly in NBA history. Unfortunately (or is it fortunately?), New York won’t be hosting Game 7 so we won’t find out what tech bro or insufferable influencer is going to boast that they paid a million dollars for a courtside seat. And when these once-in-a-generation moments happen, the brands are going to be bringing their best. At least that’s what we’re hoping for.

San Antonio Spurs

Big 3: Victor Wembanyama (Nike), Dylan Harper (Nike), De’Aaron Fox (Under Armour)

The prophecy has been fulfilled and right on schedule for Big Vic and Nike. In Wemby’s first playoff run, he led the Spurs to the NBA Finals as their unquestioned best player. And yet, there’s not a peep of a signature shoe. The ads are plentiful, creative, and funny, but the idea that he doesn’t have a signature sneaker or at least pseudo-signatures that people associate with him is uncharted territory. By the time Tim Duncan debuted the Nike Air Max Duncan in his fourth season in the league, he was already known as the face of the Nike Total Air Foamposite Max and the Nike Flightposite alongside Kevin Garnett. Wemby’s GT Hustle 3 exclusives are fine, but not exactly popping like his predecessors.

We’ve talked about it in a previous edition of Sneaker Rivals, but at the rate Dylan Harper is maturing into being a co-star that could grow up with Wemby for years to come, there’s a world where he gets a signature shoe first while Wemby is just this unique character in Nike’s ecosystem that doesn’t need it. Harper has the sleek game that you would associate with a signature athlete and the international appeal of being half-Filipino which will instantly make him a legend to a nation that is super passionate about hoops. His upcoming Titan collabs and slicker-than-your-typical personal logo also indicate that Nike sees what we’re seeing as well.

After everything that Under Armour has gone through this year with losing their two biggest stars in men’s and women’s basketball, it’s a little crazy to think that they would be the one in the NBA Finals with a signature athlete in De'Aaron Fox. It’s a small consolation prize in the long run, but being able to see Under Armour on the league’s biggest stage is something that the brand will be able to carry with them forward as Fox appears to be a fixture for the Spurs in the immediate future.

New York Knicks

Big 3: Jalen Brunson (Nike), Jose Alvarado (AND1), OG Anunoby (Skechers)

The job might not be finished, but Jalen Brunson has accomplished a huge mission for Nike and a hypothetical Kobe Brand, no different than when Ray Allen, Maya Moore, or Jayson Tatum played in the Finals in Jordans. After the Knicks swept the Cleveland Cavaliers, Brunson was all business in his celebration of the accomplishment. No doubt he was happy to make it to the Finals, but he’s been indoctrinated into the Mamba Mentality that nothing matters but banners*.

So until that final buzzer sounds and Brunson is potentially celebrating the first NBA championship of his career, don’t expect anything even remotely resembling a smile. With the Nike Kobe 3 Protro in the current rotation of releases, maybe he needs to break out the Kobe 3 Prelude (aka the Misery shoe that reflected Kobe’s mood after he lost to the Boston Celtics in the 2008 Finals) to reflect the vibes. In case that’s not on the menu, expect to see some new player exclusive Kobe Protro colorways that Nike and Brunson have been saving for this very moment, while his Villanova mates Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges could be gifted golden versions of the GT Cut or ST Charge like other Nike guys before them who have made the Finals but fall a little short of signature shoe status.

Another player who is making the most of his opportunity is Jose Alvarado. He’s only been a Knick since February, but in that time, the Brooklyn native has been seen dapping it up with Fat Joe courtside, co-starring in two national ad campaigns alongside Brunson and Knicks legends Patrick Ewing and Carmelo Anthony, taking batting practice with the New York Mets, and becoming the face of AND1. The New York bump is undeniable, and Alvarado is having the time of his life in the process. The AND1 Mad Game Pro in Knicks colors has popped up on socials and Alvarado’s feet in the playoffs, but some new player exclusives for the Finals would certainly be welcome.

The X-factor to the Knicks’ championship chances could come down to OG Anunoby’s health. There have been times during this playoff run where he was the Knicks best or second-best player on the court, much to Anne Hathaway’s delight. Skechers has never been in this kind of position before, as they are relatively new to the basketball space, but they would be wise to bring their best to MSG. Maybe have (checks notes…) Martha Stewart or noted Lakers fan Snoop Dogg courtside in PE colorways of Anunoby’s SKX Nexus or SKX Reign. But with a hamstring injury sidelining him for a few games during this run, every game he’s available is going to be extremely valuable to the Knicks.

*Speaking of banners, the idea that the Knicks front office felt they were either too good or too cool to celebrate the NBA Cup earlier this season with a banner now looks even more embarrassing in hindsight. They have a chance to become the first team to achieve the historic double, but because they chose not to highlight that achievement, bringing it up now should be ridiculed and disqualifying. It is once again another example of no matter what, the Knicks will always find a way to be the Knicks. Never change.

Historical Matchup: New York Knicks vs San Antonio Spurs (1999 NBA Finals)

One of the reasons for the massive hype cycle surrounding the series is the fact that the Knicks will get a chance to avenge their loss in the 1999 NBA Finals against the Spurs, even though a number of players on both teams - including the Spurs’ core of Wemby, Harper, and Stephon Castle - were not even alive in 1999. Sneakerheads looking for a treasure trove of Jordans, Pennys, and Foamposites will be very disappointed in this series, as it features a number of players wearing mid-tier gems like the Nike Vis Zoom Air Uptempo, Nike Air Afterburner Flight, and the Nike Air Team Max Zoom. Stepping outside of the Nike ecosystem were Avery Johnson of the Spurs and Latrell Sprewell on the Knicks. Johnson was a FILA man, and throughout the series he wore the relatively obscure (in comparison to his earlier work) Grant Hill 5, while Sprewell was a sneaker nomad who moved from brand to brand and rocked the AND1 Crossover Mid.

Famous Fans: Spike Lee (Knicks) vs Samuel L. Jackson (Spurs)

Spike Lee is arguably the most famous fan of any one team in the history of sports. His support of the New York Knicks goes back to his childhood when he was in attendance for the Knicks’ first championship in 1970 at Madison Square Garden. Since the 1990s, he has been a fixture courtside wearing all sorts of Knicks gear and sneakers in the colors of his favorite team.

Longtime friend and collaborator Samuel L. Jackson (they’ve worked on six films together) is a massive NBA fan who has been seen courtside in multiple arenas, but his loyalties lie with the Spurs. He narrated the team’s 2014 championship season recap for ring night and has posted wearing Spurs gear on social media. While Spike’s association with Jordan Brand is legendary, Jackson is currently a part of adidas’ most recent Superstar campaign. While we expect Lee to be sitting courtside at every Knicks game in exclusive Jordans, Jackson could serve as a nice counter in San Antonio decked out in head-to-toe three stripes.

Juan Martinez

From video game journalism to veteran of the sneaker blog era to podcasting about well, everything, Juan is smiling through it all and can't believe this is his life. After recently getting into Formula 1, he now has hot takes about who the greatest driver of all time is. Email: juan@soleretriever.com