Nick Wright explains why Spurs’ Game 2 loss boosts Knicks’ 2026 NBA Championship hopes

Nick Wright says New York Knicks are gaining from San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder battle

Nick Wright on X explained why the San Antonio Spurs’ Game 2 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder could still be good news for the New York Knicks.

Wright wrote, “For the 2nd straight game of the WCF, the biggest winner (outside of the team that actually won the game) was the Knicks.

“This is going to be a 7-game war that finds the victor operating at far less than 100% going into the Finals. A Knicks title is a very real possibility,” he added.

The argument is about wear and tear. San Antonio stole Game 1 in double overtime, before Oklahoma City responded with a 122-113 win in Game 2 to tie the Western Conference Finals at 1-1.

That kind of series can drain even elite teams. The Thunder already saw Jalen Williams leave Game 2 with a hamstring issue, while the Spurs lost Dylan Harper during the game and were already without De’Aaron Fox because of an ankle problem.

New York Knicks title path looks stronger if Western Conference Finals turns into a seven-game war

The second part of Wright’s point depends on the Knicks avoiding the same kind of exhausting road.

New York leads the Cleveland Cavaliers 1-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals after a stunning 115-104 overtime win in Game 1, where the Knicks closed on a 44-11 run after trailing by 22 points.

If the Knicks can finish quickly while the Spurs and Thunder keep trading heavy blows, rest becomes a real advantage before the NBA Finals.

Wright is not calling the Knicks automatic champions. He is saying the Western Conference Finals may create the exact opening New York needs: a fresher team waiting for a winner that had to survive too much just to get there.