Entertainment

NBA Finals Script Revealed: NBA 2K26 Sim Crowns Spurs Champions; Wemby Wins First FMVP

Hours before tonight's Game 1 tip-off, NBA 2K26 has called its shot. The official simulation of the 2025-26 NBA Finals predicts the San Antonio Spurs defeating the New York Knicks in six games, with the championship sealed by a 106-104 nail-biter in Game 6. If you want to compare that to the Corgi's predictions - well, the Corgi also predicts Wemby and the Spurs winning, but in seven games.

And as the basketball world has been bracing for since his historic season began, Victor Wembanyama takes home his first Finals MVP trophy. If you've been watching where 2K has been pointing all year, none of this should shock you. The script has been writing itself since March.

Alongside the simulation, 2K dropped a fresh round of player ratings updates focused on the two Finals teams. The numbers reinforce the narrative: this is a championship 2K sees as the culmination of an entire season of momentum.

NBA 2K26 Ratings Update Before The Finals

Jalen Brunson, PG, New York Knicks: 96 OVR (+2). The biggest individual bump in this cycle. Coming off an incredible playoffs run, Brunson hit 94 OVR at the start of the Conference Finals two weeks ago - now he's at 96, putting him in the same conversation as the league's true elites.

On the Spurs side, three role-player bumps make up the rest of the update. Dylan Harper, G, San Antonio Spurs: 85 OVR (+1). The rookie continues to validate the hype he carried into the league. Keldon Johnson, F, San Antonio Spurs: 81 OVR (+2). Johnson's been one of the steady-state contributors holding the Spurs' depth together all postseason, proving that he truly deserved to win 6th Man of the Year. Julian Champagnie, F, San Antonio Spurs: 82 OVR (+2). A meaningful jump for one of the rotation players who has stepped up when the Spurs needed him to.

The thing worth noticing is the absence: no Wembanyama bump in this cycle. He's already at 97 OVR since March, sitting in the top tier of the entire league, just behind SGA and Jokic. There's nowhere left to go on the in-season rating scale. The only step up from here is the cover of NBA 2K27.

The Wemby of It All

Which brings us to the actual conversation everyone is having. Wembanyama as Finals MVP in 2K's simulation isn't just a numbers exercise. It's a coronation. It lines up directly with the persistent rumors that Wembanyama is the leading candidate for the NBA 2K27 cover athlete. Think about that list of accolades for a moment. Win Defensive Player of the Year in the regular season, get your first 1st Team All-NBA nod, then win a championship, win Finals MVP, and become the face of the next NBA 2K game. That's the kind of arc that gets cemented into the franchise's history.

The Spurs in the Finals at all is a story that has been building for months. 2K's Conference Semifinals simulation a month ago already had San Antonio in the Conference Finals. That through-line started with the young stars stepping up in Update #9 and tracked the league's competitive depth all the way through every ratings update since.

The Bracket-Busting Knicks

For their part, the Knicks have written one of the year's most genuinely surprising playoff runs. Brunson's 96 OVR is recognition of a point guard who has carried his team to within striking distance of a championship. The sim has him and the Knicks pushing the series to six games and within two points of forcing a Game 7 - that's the kind of run that earns lasting respect even in a losing effort. New York hasn't been to the NBA Finals since 1999, where, interestingly, they lost to the Spurs as well. Getting there at all is the story. Pushing the Spurs to a 106-104 Game 6 is the chapter that lives on after. But will Knicks be able to overturn the sim prediction and actually win it all this year?

Final Tip

Of course, this is a simulation. The actual NBA Finals tip off tonight with Game 1, and basketball doesn't always cooperate with what video games predict. But 2K's track record this postseason has been impressive. The Conference Finals sim called the right matchups, and the ratings have moved in lockstep with on-court performance throughout. If the script holds, we're a few weeks away from Victor Wembanyama lifting his first Larry O'Brien Trophy. If it doesn't, then Knicks get their revenge for 1999. Either way, this is going to be a series worth watching.

The full list of NBA 2K26 player ratings updates is available on the official NBA 2K26 ratings page.

Copyright The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 11:03 AM.

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