Devin Vassell Reveals Extra Motivation for Spurs Entering NBA Finals

The San Antonio Spurs will match up against the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals, starting with Game 1 on Wednesday night.

The Spurs had success against almost every team in the league this past season. However, the Knicks gave the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed trouble on multiple occasions.

The Knicks defeated the Spurs in the championship game of the 2025 in-season NBA Cup, securing a 124-113 victory in Las Vegas. New York also took care of the visiting Spurs at Madison Square Garden, notching a dominant 114-89 win on March 1.

San Antonio veteran Devin Vassell took the podium for NBA Finals media day on Tuesday, where he discussed the added motivation for “get back” against the Knicks.

“The Knicks have played us really well this year,” Vassell said. “We went into their house and they beat us. They beat us in the in-season tournament. They beat us last year on Christmas. So we feel like we’ve got to get some get back, because they’ve been successful against us.”

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The Spurs just wrapped up a physically, mentally and emotionally-taxing Western Conference Finals series against the reigning-champion Oklahoma City Thunder. On the other hand, the Knicks have had plenty of time to rest and recover following their Eastern Conference Finals series sweep over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

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Game 1 of the NBA Finals will tipoff at 8:30 p.m. ET from San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center on Wednesday.

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This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 11:30 AM.