The NBA Finals haven’t even tipped off yet, but both the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs already brought plenty of personality to media day in San Antonio on Tuesday.
Victor Wembanyama admitted the Spurs are still trying to emotionally reset after their dramatic Game 7 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.
“Coming back down from this is a challenge. It’s not done yet,” Wembanyama said. “We still need to really come back down to earth and realize we haven’t done the hardest yet. The job isn’t done at all. So we still got about, I don’t know, what time is it, like 30-plus hours to recenter.”
Stephon Castle echoed that feeling, while explaining how difficult it’s been to move on from eliminating the defending champions on the road.
“I mean, honestly, I think it was a feel-good win for us,” Castle said. “Playing the defending champs on the road in a Game 7 like that, it’s hard to flush that out of the back of your mind, especially when you’re the team that came out on top. We have a balance where we understand we can’t get complacent or satisfied with that. We still have a job.”
Meanwhile, the Knicks had plenty of praise for Wembanyama heading into the series.
Jalen Brunson called the Spurs superstar one of the most unique players he’s ever seen.
“Watching him as a player, it’s pretty unbelievable,” Brunson said. “Things he’s able to do on both sides of the ball include people have never really seen before, for a person of his size. It’s incredible to watch from a player’s perspective.”
The funniest moment of the day may have belonged to Knicks guard Josh Hart, who joked about first meeting his Villanova teammates.
“I hated Jalen. I thought he was one of them annoying five-star recruits that come in entitled,” Hart said. “Unfortunately, he was the opposite, and we sparked a friendship.”
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