NBA Finals 2026: Why the Knicks’ Elite Shooting Could Expose Wembanyama’s One Weakness
Feb 8, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson talks with New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11), forward Mikal Bridges (25), and guard Josh Hart (3) during a timeout in the third quarter against the Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Everyone is talking about Victor Wembanyama. The 2025-2026 Defensive Player of the Year, the 2.24m alien from San Antonio, the generational talent who just dismantled the defending champion Thunder in the Western Conference Finals. He is the story. He is always the story.
But the New York Knicks didn’t get to their first Finals since 1999 — riding an 11-game playoff win streak — by caring about the story everyone else is telling.
A Team of Cast-Offs With a Tactical Blueprint
This Knicks roster reads like a list of players other organizations gave up on. Jalen Brunson, shipped out by Dallas. OG Anunoby, traded away by Toronto. Mikal Bridges, dealt by Brooklyn. Karl-Anthony Towns, let go by Minnesota. Josh Hart, bounced from team to team before finding a home in New York. Tom Thibodeau built a 53-29 team — Eastern Conference champions — entirely through trades, with zero top draft picks anchoring the core. That is almost unheard of in the modern NBA.
Josh Hart (New York Knicks) - Mikal Bridges (New York Knicks) · NBA 2025-2026Josh Hart Mikal Bridges GP 4 4 PTS 14.3 18.5 REB 7.8 4.3 AST 5.5 2.8 STL 2.3 1.3 BLK 0 0.5
What makes them dangerous isn’t just the redemption narrative, though that energy inside MSG is real. It’s the numbers. The Knicks are leading all 2026 playoff teams in 3-point percentage at 40%, in 2-point percentage at a staggering 59.3% — a full 20 points ahead of the second-place team — and in effective field goal percentage at 59.2%. This is not a team grinding out wins. This is an offensive juggernaut, and Brunson is its engine, shooting 48.3% from 3-point range and 64.6% from 2-point range in these playoffs.
Pulling Wembanyama Away From the Paint
Here is where the tactical story begins. San Antonio’s defensive philosophy is built around one foundational idea: let Wembanyama roam freely as a safety in the paint. He deters drives, erases mistakes, and protects the rim at a historic level. The Spurs’ perimeter defenders can take calculated risks precisely because they know Wembanyama is waiting behind them.
The Oklahoma City Thunder already identified this vulnerability in the Western Conference Finals, attempting to use floor-spacers to drag Wembanyama toward the 3-point line. The concept is sound. The execution, however, requires shooting that the Thunder couldn’t sustain.
Last 3 games averages Last 3 gamesGP MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK 3 40:10 25 11.7 3 0.7 3.7 Date MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK Game League 14/06 37:52 19 14 2 0 5 L 90-94 vs NYK NBA 11/06 43:55 24 13 1 0 3 L 107-106 @ NYK NBA 09/06 38:44 32 8 6 2 3 W 111-115 @ NYK NBA
The Knicks can. When Brunson probes the paint and kicks to Bridges or Hart spotting up beyond the arc, when Towns sets a high screen and drifts to the elbow, the Spurs face a genuine dilemma. Help with Wembanyama and give up an open 3-pointer from one of the hottest shooting teams in recent playoff memory. Stay home and let Brunson — the most prolific 30-point scorer in Knicks playoff history — operate in space. A 7’4″ rim-roamer defending the perimeter is a neutralized rim-roamer. That is the blueprint.
The weight of 27 years of Finals absence sits on every possession at MSG. But this group has already proven it can carry weight. Bridges, Anunoby, Hart, and Towns were told, in various ways, that they weren’t quite enough. They have spent this entire playoff run proving otherwise.
If they can sustain 40% from 3-point range against the best defensive anchor in basketball, the Knicks won’t just be a good story. They’ll be champions.
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