In a vacuum, Victor Wembanyama will likely have a better career than Karl-Anthony Towns. That's why many people believed ahead of time that the San Antonio Spurs were the favorite in the 2026 NBA Finals. Yet here we are: the New York Knicks are up 2-0 with both homecourt advantage and the momentum.
Why is that? Because of Towns, who has completely neutralized Wemby (who just beat the reigning champions) while also making his life hell on the other end.
El partido de Towns fue espectacular. El jugador del partido.
— YostinNBA (@YostinNBA) June 4, 2026
18 puntos y 12 rebotes, pero más importante, mantuvo a Wembanyama en un 2-12 de campo cuando le tocó defenderlo.
Está jugando un baloncesto inteligente, entendiendo cuándo aparecer y exigiendo sus momentos. Se ha… pic.twitter.com/IDZHkc8JHv
Sound familiar, Boston Celtics fans? It should, because this feels very similar to when Al Horford used to dominate against Joel Embiid in the Celtics' playoff matchups against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Embiid certainly has a more impressive resume than Horford does, but every time the two matched up, Horford had his number. He really was Embiid's worst nightmare because he knew how to cover him one-on-one while also forcing him out of the post with his three-point shooting.
Remember that Horford dominated Embiid and the Sixers so much that they gave him an expensive deal just to get him away from the Celtics.
Now the Spurs face a similar predicament with Towns. Even in Year 3, Wemby already looks like the league's best player, and yet, it hasn't mattered in this series. Towns has been a Horford-esque nightmare for Wembanyama, which has put the Spurs out of whack.
This is one of those examples of when the little things truly do matter. It's not about who's more talented. It's about who understands the assignment better. Despite not being on Wemby's level, Towns has the edge because he gets it.
It's why it's hard to see the Knicks blowing this
Regardless of how this series shakes out, New York has made it clear that they are not afraid of San Antonio, and it's showing. It's also hard to imagine how the Spurs will respond to this. Wembanyama's got his work cut out for him in his matchup against Towns. One would think beating Chet Holmgren and Rudy Gobert to a pulp would mean Towns would suffer a similar fate. Nope!
Towns has proven that for the time being, Wembanyama is not an unbeatable player, and if he can stop the MVP candidate in his tracks, the Knicks will have the inside track to win their first title since 1973.
It's a reminder of what happens when you have the right players on your team when going up against the best of the best, like when Boston had Horford. On a side note, it's also a good reminder that the Celtics have to think long and hard about what to do about their center position going forward.
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