Bullet point summary by AI
- The New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs could face off in the NBA Finals, mirroring their 1999 championship showdown.
- Comparing the 1999 rosters reveals a stark contrast in styles, with the Knicks relying on post play and defense versus the Spurs’ twin towers dominance.
- Today’s game emphasizes perimeter scoring and pace, a dramatic shift from the bulky, low-scoring strategies of the late 1990s.
The New York Knicks have already punched their ticket to the NBA Finals, completing their second consecutive sweep and rolling with a head of steam that would make them the favorites in any other season. They know have the benefit of resting up while two historically dominant teams — the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs — finish battling it out in the West.
If the Knicks have a preferred opponent from these two potential juggernauts they’re keeping it close to the vest, although, there would be a certain amount of symmetry in getting to face the Spurs. You see, it’s been 26 years since the Knicks last made the Finals and their opponent that years was the Spurs, powered by a young, superstar big man. You can see the parallels between the Knicks facing off against Victor Wembanyama, just like those Knicks took on Tim Duncan.
But a quick look through the rosters from those 1999 NBA Finals teams reveals that we’re playing an entirely different kind of basketball right now.
New York Knicks roster from the 1999 NBA Finals
| PLAYER | POSITION |
|---|---|
| Charlie Ward | PG |
| Allan Houston | SG |
| Latrell Sprewell | SF |
| Larry Johnson | PF |
| Patrick Ewing | C |
| Chris Childs | PG |
| Kurt Thomas | PF |
| Marcus Camby | C |
| Chris Dudley | C |
| Rick Brunson | PG |
| Herb Williams | C |
| David Wingate | SG |
| Ben Davis | PF |
Talk about remembering some guys. The Knicks rolled into the Finals anchored by a 36-year-old Patrick Ewing, along with a newish core of Chris Childs, Allan Houston and Larry Johnson who had all been acquired in the summer of 1996. Marcus Camby and Latrell Sprewell were in their first season in New York, rounding out the depth and helping the Knicks make it back to the NBA Finals for one more title swing with Ewing.
This Knicks roster was incredible balanced, with Houston, Johnson, Sprewell and Ewing all averaging in double-figures. But it was Sprewell who really took charge in the postseason — mostly coming off the bench but still averaging a team-high 20.4 points per game.
This a roster is also a fascinating artifact from this era of basketball. It featured two non-shooting point guards — Charlie Ward and Chris Childs appeared in 20 postseason games and combine to make 27 total 3-pointers at a 32.1 percent clip. And of the 11 players who made at least one appearance, four were centers — Ewing, Dudley, Camby and Williams. The other two nominal bigs, Johnson and Kurt Thomas were complete non-shooters — Thomas didn’t attempt a single 3, Johnson attempted more than 4 per game but shot less than 30 percent.
This was a bulky, physical, defensive juggernaut that relied on post scoring, Allan Houston’s elite shooting and Sprewell’s off-the-dribble creativity to get anything going on offense. Given all that, it’s not surprising that they averaged just 86.4 points per game in the playoffs.
San Antonio Spurs roster from the 1999 NBA Finals
| PLAYER | POSITION |
|---|---|
| Avery Johnson | PG |
| Mario Elie | SG |
| Sean Elliott | SF |
| Tim Duncan | PF |
| David Robinson | C |
| Jaren Jackson | SF |
| Malik Rose | PF |
| Jerome Kersey | PF |
| Will Perdue | C |
| Antonio Daniels | PG |
| Steve Kerr | PG |
| Gerard King | SG |
The Spurs were a mirror image of Knicks roster construction, they just had much better bigs. This was the first title of San Antonio’s dynasty and they won it with the twin towers of 22-year-old Tim Duncan and 33-year-old David Robinson.
They hadn’t found Manu Ginobili or Tony Parker yet so the guard and wing rotation here is loaded with relatively un-athletic veterans who could rough you up on the defensive end and get away with it. Duncan, 23-year-old Antonio Daniels and 24-year-old Malik Rose were the players under 30 who played meaningful minutes during their postseason run.
The story was the dominance of Duncan and Robinson, who combined for 37.8 points per game, about 43 percent of the Spurs’ total points in the postseason. They also combined for 21.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.4 steals and 5.0 blocks per game. Robinson got his first ring and Duncan got the first of what would turn out to be three Finals MVPs.
In the fun trivia category — this roster also featured Steve Kerr, who played less than 100 postseason minutes and was 3-of-13 from beyond the arc, and Jaren Jackson, the father of current Utah Jazz forward Jaren Jackson Jr.
