Knicks-Spurs rivaled 1990 Pistons-Blazers as best Finals that ended in five

The final tally says Knicks in five. Don’t let that fool you.

On paper, a 4-1 NBA Finals doesn’t exactly scream all-time classic. But anyone who watched the Knicks and Spurs battle over the past two weeks knows this series delivered just about everything you’d want from a championship matchup.

Drama. Stars. Comebacks. Heartbreak. History.

And despite ending in five games, it may have been the best five-game Finals since the Pistons knocked off the Trail Blazers in 1990.

That series is still remembered fondly by longtime NBA fans because four of the five games came down to the final possessions. Detroit won Game 1 by six points, lost Game 2 in overtime by one, captured Game 4 by three and sealed the title with a two-point victory in Game 5. The only game that wasn’t a nail-biter was Game 3.

Sound familiar?

The Knicks won Game 2 by one point. They won Game 4 by one point after completing the largest comeback in NBA Finals history, erasing a 29-point deficit. They won Game 5 by four points. Even Game 1 was competitive deep into the second half.

In fact, every game in this series featured a double-digit Spurs lead at some point.

Every game. Yet New York kept finding a way back.

The defining image will forever be Jalen Brunson refusing to let the Knicks lose. His 45-point masterpiece in Game 5 secured Finals MVP honors and capped one of the greatest postseason runs in franchise history. Time and again, Brunson delivered when the moment demanded it.

Meanwhile, Victor Wembanyama, Dylan Harper and the Spurs proved they’re likely headed back to this stage sooner rather than later.

Sure, Knicks-Spurs didn’t go seven games. It didn’t need to.

Sometimes the length of a series doesn’t tell the story. The quality does.

And for five games, these Finals gave us just about everything basketball fans could ask for.