San Antonio Spurs begin new season chasing another Finals run

The San Antonio SpursSan Antonio SpursNBA · United States begin the new season with a return to the NBANBAUnited States Finals as the expectation around them, after their run to last season's championship series ended in defeat to the New York Knicks.

That Finals appearance was a surprise. San Antonio were not widely tipped to reach the last stage of the playoffs, and the run finished with the Knicks winning the title. The result has reframed the club: a side that exceeded expectations is now measured against them.

New York return as champions, defending the title rather than chasing it. The two clubs are now tied together by the outcome that decided last season, and any repeat of that meeting would carry a different kind of weight for San Antonio.

2025-26

Season 2025-26

Why a second Finals run looks harder

Timothy Holdiness · CC BY-SA 4.0

Analysis: the conditions that produced last season's run are unlikely to repeat exactly. A team that arrives in the Finals unheralded is prepared for differently the following season, and San Antonio will be treated as a contender from the opening weeks rather than as an unknown quantity.

Expectation also shifts what counts as progress. A season that ends before the Finals will be read differently now than it would have been a year ago, and that judgement is applied from the first game rather than the last.

What is not yet known

News 4 (WOAI) San Antonio · CC BY 4.0

No roster details, player availability or scheduling information has been confirmed in connection with San Antonio's new campaign. It is not established whether the group that reached the Finals will be unchanged, nor what the club has identified as the main obstacle to getting back.

The club has not set out publicly what would count as success beyond another deep run, and no target has been attached to a particular stage of the season.

What happens next

The answer will come across a full season rather than a single stretch of games. San Antonio's progress will be judged against the field they navigated once already, and against the Knicks, who begin the campaign as the team everyone else is chasing.

For the Spurs, the task is straightforward to state and difficult to complete: the Finals run that surprised the league last season has become the standard they are now asked to meet.