The San Antonio Spurs were favored to win the championship heading to the 2026 NBA Finals. However, after two games played at their home court, the Spurs find themselves down 0-2 to the New York Knicks.
Jalen Brunson has made big baskets in the fourth quarter for the Knicks, but it’s been the play of Karl-Anthony Towns that has been the difference-maker in this series. Many said before the Finals began that KAT’s performance on both ends of the court would make or break the Knicks. Well, Towns hasn’t just performed well after two games; he’s completely outplayed Victor Wembanyama, and Wemby gave credit where it’s due.
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“It’s very different from previous series,” said Wembanyama in the postgame press conference. “He’s bringing us into difficult areas because they’re good players. He’s a good player. We need to figure it out. We need to keep working on it. We can do a little bit better. We can do better.”
Wemby was coming off a stellar performance in the WCF
Wembanyama had one hell of a Western Conference finals, where he averaged 27.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.7 blocks and 1.4 steals per game. He had a 33-point performance in Game 5 and a 28-10 double-double in Game 6, coming up big when the Spurs needed to win.
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However, after shooting just 6-21 from the floor, including 2-9 from 3-point distance in Game 1’s 95-105 loss, Wembanyama took only four shots in the first half of Game 2 and was completely outplayed by Towns before the referees put KAT in foul trouble in the third quarter. Wemby had a strong finish, but he committed four crucial mistakes in the final 30 seconds of Game 2 that cost them the game.
Towns finished Game 2 with 21 points, 13 rebounds and four assists, shooting 8-12 from the floor, including 3-5 from 3-point distance. Before he earned his fifth foul, KAT was absolutely having his way with Wemby both on offense and defense.
Max Kellerman thinks that KAT is Wemby’s kryptonite
Wembanyama is averaging an impressive 27.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game through the first two games of the 2026 NBA Finals; however, his numbers have not translated into victories. Many say it’s because of his matchup problems. Max Kellerman tweeted that KAT is to Wemby what the Frenchman was to Chet Holmgren – his kryptonite.
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“Is Wemby KAT’s Chet?”wrote Max on “X.”
It can be recalled that Wembanyama made Chet look bad in the Western Conference Finals, turning the All-Star and All-NBA third team member into an ordinary big man who was outplayed and outworked throughout the series. Holmgren averaged just 10.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game against the Spurs and particularly disappeared in Game 7, where he scored just four points on two shot attempts with four rebounds in 33 minutes.
In the same way, KAT had the same impact on Wemby after two Finals games. And although Vic has posted big numbers, his production has not mattered so far as the Spurs are down 0-2. Meanwhile, many are now saying that Towns could be the Finals MVP if the Knicks win and he continues his strong play.
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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jun 6, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.