NBA FINALS: KNICKS VS. SPURS

June 3, 2026

Victor Wembanyama

San Antonio Spurs

Game 1: Postgame

Knicks 105, Spurs 95

Q. You have faced a lot of downhill guards this postseason. What is about Jalen Brunson that makes him a little bit more difficult to defend?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: He's an elite player. We got the chance that we're going to have many more chances. It's the first-to-four series. We're going to have time to work on it.

Q. Mitch was talking about the need to get inside more, to establish more of a presence inside. Did you feel like you did what you needed to do in that regard? How can you improve on that in Game 2?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: No, of course not. I agree with the coach. It's the same: every team guards differently. I'm going to figure it out. Yeah, I was bad tonight. It's not more complicated than that.

Q. You guys were up 12 or 14 midway through the third. When did you feel like things were slipping? Was it quick or simply they started making more shots?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: It was quick. I think we let that one go.

Q. Walking into this, your first-ever Finals game tonight, were there any jitters that bothered you from the beginning that perhaps could have affected you at all today?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: It definitely felt special, for sure. But nothing close that could be an excuse. It was not a factor in our performance.

Q. What are you kicking yourself about personally the most about tonight?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: Nothing. Obviously, we've been down in a series before. Never in the Finals, obviously. But I'm not kicking myself about anything really. I'm not worried the slightest.

Q. It's obvious how much every moment of this means to you. When you don't live up to your own expectations on a particular night, how do you personally reset?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: Protocol is big for me. By 'protocol' I mean doing everything right, doing all the film I need to do, doing all the recovery, speaking to my team, figuring out the things and holding each other accountable.

For me, it doesn't get more complicated than that. I'm not an overthinker.

Q. You guys go on a late run toward the end of the game, go up one. What did the Knicks do to stop the momentum after you took the lead late?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: We let them get an offensive rebound. So that's on us. After that, that's an experienced team, they know how to play with momentum. We had the momentum until late in that game. That's why I said we let that one go.

Q. Over these last few series there's been moments where you've come out here and said "I didn't play well" or "I wasn't myself." How have I figured it out, gotten through those moments?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: It's almost not like I have anything to figure out. It's almost like I have to play normal, not even good.

It's just like doing the right things is enough. When we play bad, when I play bad, is when we shoot ourselves in the foot. This is why I'm not worried. We're going to be so much better. I'm going to be so much better.

Q. Your group has preached all season long about not getting too low or high regardless of the outcome.

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: Absolutely.

Q. In a moment where everything is magnified right now, how do you keep the team focused toward the bigger picture?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: Talking to each other, saying the things that need to be said, and keep trusting each other and the game plan. Obviously the guys, us, the guys who are going to have the ball more, we're going to have more of the responsibility to step up and set the tone in the first minutes of the next game.

Q. After tonight's game, what do you expect from yourself and from your teammates for Game 2?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: It's plenty of things, but it's still very fresh.

I'm going to look at the film. It's probably going to be 30 things that we're going to address tomorrow at 11 a.m. or something.

Q. A strange situation with the fan running up to you. Have you been in that situation before during a game? What was going through your head? Did you smile for the picture?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: I've never been in that situation. I didn't know how to act. It really surprised me, almost as much as that time where a bat crossed the court.