It’s 10:59 p.m. Just about 24 hours since the final buzzer went off and the Spurs were crowned Western Conference Champions. Just under 24 hours ago Victor Wembanyama hoisted his WCF MVP trophy proclaiming this is just the first of many. Just under 24 hours since I sat in postgame press conferences and heard Mitch Johnson praise Luke Kornet’s block. Victor Wembanyama shared an emotional desire to talk to Pop. Both Dylan Harper and Julian Champagnie were wide-eyed, barely able to contain their excitement
about playing their first NBA Finals in New York, the city where their love of basketball bloomed. And just before the night ended (at least ended at Paycom Arena), De’Aaron Fox gave a shout out to the NBA fans.
I was up for at least two hours talking about the Knicks/Spurs match up. My traveling companions were all taking in the Spurs victory, the team we’ve been writing about, many of us for years now. We discussed how the Knicks has a heavy duty line up. The physicality of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson is going to be a challenge for Victor Wembanyama. We predicted how Stephon Castle will match up against Jalen Brunson. And we started planning trips to New York.
I spent most of today driving back from Oklahoma City. Got in just in time to cook dinner, read to the kid, and visit with my wife. And here I sit now, still taking in the reality that the San Antonio Spurs are heading to the 2026 NBA Finals.
I grew up in San Antonio and have been a lifelong Spurs fan. I, like many of you, remember seeing games at HemisFair Arena. Even more of us experienced the Spurs play at the Alamodome, that huge blue curtain cutting a football stadium in half to house the city’s lone major sports franchise. And still more have possibly visited the SBC Center, AT&T Center, or Frost Bank Center. They’re all the same arena adjacent to the Joe and Harry Freeman Coliseum, but the name has changed over the years.
I remember summers, watching the playoffs while home from college. Back then we had to get a pay-per-view box to watch blacked out Spurs games. (If you don’t know, ask your dad.) David Robinson was the star, but for a brief sliver of time while Dennis Rodman was on the team, his colorful hair and even more colorful personality pulled focus. The experiment didn’t work. Pretty soon the faces everyone associated with the Spurs were Robinson, Sean Elliott, and Avery Johnson. Not surprising they are the fourth, fifth, and sixth jerseys retired by the organization.
I left San Antonio after college and lived outside Texas until 2013, the year my daughter was born. So much of the Duncan/Parker/Ginobili Big Three Era took place while I was away. Since returning I have become a full-blown fan again. I even got my Midwestern wife on board. My daughter has embraced her fandom as well. Attending games has become part of our family’s tradition. 2014 was the perfect season to reignite my interest in basketball. I watched every single game of 2013-2014, soaking it up as the Spurs fought their way toward their fifth NBA title. I was hooked. My obsession with the hometown heroes eventually progressed until an outlet became available to me — Pounding the Rock. Nearly nine years and three-thousand articles later, I just received an email telling me where and when to pick up my NBA credentials for the Finals. Honestly, that is still sinking in for me. Not just that the Spurs are going to the Finals, but that I get to participate in the moment.
Over the next two weeks, I’ll be arriving early, staying late, packing, unpacking, flying, writing, rinsing and repeating. There is so much going on and it is all coming so quickly. I’m elated beyond words. Excited to be coving the team that has made such an imprint on me. Thrilled to share the experience, to write about the Finals.
How is this shaping up for you? Has it truly sunk in that the San Antonio Spurs are about to play in the NBA Finals? The team is looking to earn their sixth NBA title. For most of these young players, this postseason has been full of firsts. They have been labeled “inexperienced.” But each time some pundit counts them out, they rise to the moment and persevere. Time after time, they continue to prove they are ready.
Welcome to the NBA Finals, and Go Spurs Go!
“Four more to win.”
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