Karl-Anthony Towns Shares Honest Approach to Guarding Victor Wembanyama

Victor Wembanyama finished Wednesday night’s Game 1 NBA Finals loss with 26 points and 12 rebounds, but the New York Knicks actually did a great job of containing the San Antonio Spurs superstar.

Wembanyama shot poorly in the 105-95 loss at San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center, shooting 6/21 from the field and 2/9 from behind the 3-point arc. 12 of his 26 points came on 13 attempts from the free-throw line.

Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns played a major role in New York’s defensive game plan against Wembanyama in Game 1.

“Just trying to make it difficult,” Towns said when asked about his approach to defending the 7-foot-4 Frenchman. “He’s an amazing player, he’s a one-of-a-kind player in this NBA - that the league has ever seen. You just try to make it as difficult as possible.”

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Towns finished Game 1 with 18 points and 12 rebounds. 10 of his 18 points came in the third quarter, facilitating the Knicks’ late-game push to reclaim the lead over the home-team Spurs.

Towns has already put Game 1 in the rearview mirror, approaching Game 2 with a hungry attitude.

“Every game has to be approached like it’s 0-0,” he said. “We got to come out with that same energy, intensity and desperation like it’s Game 1 of any playoff series.”

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Game 2 will tipoff at 8:30 p.m. ET on Friday.

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This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 11:23 AM.