The Spurs are so much more than just Victor Wembanyama.
He gets the vast majority of the attention, given his stature as a burgeoning face of the league and must-watch skill set as a 7-foot-4 unicorn.
At his best, he impacts the game more than any other star with his scoring, defending and rebounding prowess.
But the Spurs wouldn’t be here — as the Knicks’ opponent in the Finals — without Wembanyama’s stellar supporting cast.
“Obviously, Wemby’s going to get a lot of attention in terms of game plan and media,” Josh Hart said after practice Sunday. “But you can’t sleep on guys like De’Aaron [Fox], [Stephon] Castle, [Dylan] Harper, [Julian] Champagnie, because if you do that, it’s going to be a long series. We’ve got to give those guys the respect they deserve and come out focused.”
Much of that supporting cast revolves around the Spurs backcourt.
It is one of the more dynamic backcourt units in the league.
And they’re almost all young — Castle is 21, Harper is 20, Devin Vassell is 25 and Champagnie is 24.
The 28-year-old Fox is the elder statesman of the group.
“They’re relentless,” Miles McBride said Sunday. “I feel like they just have this … they’re young. They have that mentality of, ‘Just go out there and scrap and make it a tough game.’ So, I love that, and we’ll be ready ourselves.”
The Knicks perimeter and point-of-attack defense has been terrific this postseason.
Mikal Bridges and Hart, in particular, have repeatedly stifled opposing ball handlers — whether it was Nickeil Alexander-Walker and (eventually) CJ McCollum in the first round, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe in the second round or James Harden and Donovan Mitchell in the conference finals.
Fox, Castle, Harper, Champagnie and even Vassell are all capable of erupting for big scoring nights.
Excluding the games Wembanyama missed with a concussion and the game from which he was ejected early, the Spurs had someone other than him lead them in scoring eight times this postseason.
It was Castle five times, Fox twice and Harper once.
How the Knicks try to defend Wembanyama is of utmost importance.
But how they fare against the Spurs backcourt will be a major factor in the series.
And the ability of that backcourt to break down defenses and get into the paint only makes Wembanyama more dangerous by forcing his defender to help off him.
The backcourt’s 3-point ability also plays a pivotal role in making defenses pay for doubling Wembanyama or packing the paint to limit his interior presence.
Castle and Harper are also terrific perimeter defenders.
They will be two of the Spurs’ top options to guard Jalen Brunson.
“They’re young, athletic, physical, can do a little bit of everything,” Hart said. “Can shoot the ball, finish at the rim at a high level.”
The Spurs have a few important veterans, in addition to Fox, to complement all their youth.
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Harrison Barnes is an NBA champion.
Keldon Johnson, the Sixth Man of the Year, is playing his seventh season in the league.
Luke Kornet is in Year 9 and on his sixth team.
“Having the mix that they have with Wemby is a nice recipe,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said Sunday. “… If Fox is in, their backcourt — Fox is a veteran, seasoned player that has been in the playoffs before, been in a Game 7 now a couple of times, and been an All-Star, Clutch Player of the Year, a talented guy. … [Barnes] has been around a long time too, and he’s been on the big stage a few times.
“So they have a nice mix of veteran players and guys that are starting to get in their prime around Wemby. And I think when you have that, you have different messages that you can get from different guys all the time.”
Yes, Wembanyama is the phenom around whom this Finals revolves. But the Spurs have given him a perfect supporting cast — one that makes him even harder to stop.
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