4 Reasons Why Celtics Fans Should Root for the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals

Boston Celtics fans are probably already anti-New York Knicks, but there are some compelling reasons why they should be pulling for the Spurs, including why it will help Boston in the future

Mar 10, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) walks off the court in the second half against the Boston Celtics at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images | Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

The San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks tip off the NBA Finals on Wednesday night. The Knicks have dominated the Eastern Conference playoffs while the Spurs have had to fight through a gauntlet to barely squeak by the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

I’m not here to tell you Boston Celtics fans how to live your life, so you can root for whichever team you want to root for. However, here are a few reasons why I humbly suggest you should be rooting for the Spurs. 

1. We don’t want to listen to Stephen A. Smith
2. The Spurs are sort of “Celtics West”
3. Celtics connections
4. It’s Boston’s best chance to win next season

We don’t want to listen to Stephen A. Smith

He is going to make this all about him. If there was a way for him to show up in uniform and sit at the end of the bench, he would. 

His stupid feud with Jaylen Brown has finally died down. The last thing we need to hear is him stoking the flames again after the Knicks win it all. Also, getting this close to the mountain top only to get knocked off would make for some great angry Stephen A. theater. 

The Spurs are sort of “Celtics West”

A team dominates a decade thanks to one of the best coaches in history and a dominant big man. 

Sounds familiar, right? There are parallels that make the Spurs probably the most similar team to the Celtics, even if the Lakers are the closest to Boston in terms of total championships. 

Did you know the Spurs (and Lakers) have more wins than the Celtics since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976? (We can thank Rick Pitino for that stat).

The Spurs have been as professional a franchise as you’ll find in the NBA. They are masters of international scouting, their great teams have been organically built, and they’ve played a stellar brand of basketball over the years. Brad Stevens is forever chasing the “Beautiful Game” Spurs as the pinnacle of NBA offense. 

Gregg Popovich is one of the few coaches in history who could sit and smoke a cigar with Red Auerbach as an equal. He’s not coaching anymore, but he’s hanging around the team even after some health issues. 

On a personal level, I’d like to see Pop get to celebrate one more. 

Celtics connections

Obviously, Luke Kornet is a national treasure and should be rewarded with championships, so there's that. Also, he made one of the best defensive plays in NBA history with his block on Isaiah Hartenstein. 

Former Celtic Kelly Olynyk is on the squad. Remember his 26-point Game 7 against the Washington Wizards in 2017? That was fun!

Ron Harper Jr.’s brother Dylan is having an amazing rookie season for the Spurs and has been huge in these playoffs. 

And let’s not forget that the Spurs … ahem … “rebuilding” that got them Victor Wembanyama helped Boston get Derrick White. So the Spurs got an assist for the 2024 championship. Might as well send them some good vibes in return. 

It’s Boston’s best chance to win next season

The Spurs are full of young 20-somethings as core contributors, with 22-year-old Victor Wembanyama leading the way. 

We know that it’s hard for teams to repeat and build a true dynasty in today’s NBA, but he’s obviously going to be a big problem for a long time. And knowing what we know about him, losing this championship will drive him to be an even bigger problem next season. 

Meanwhile, the Knicks have finally put something together after being on seemingly shaky ground all season long. There were times where it seemed like the Knicks were one loss away from complete collapse and that Karl-Anthony Towns might have to get traded. 

The Celtics are finally in a spot where they can make moves and improve their team substantially. With Jayson Tatum coming back strong and the potential for internal improvement for some key role players, the Celtics feel like they can build a true contender for the 2026-27 season. 

So the Spurs winning this title has the potential to accomplish a couple of things: push the Knicks to the brink, and give a bunch of young kids way too much success too soon. 

While the Celtics build their contender, the Knicks will be looking around wondering if they have enough to win it all. Stephen A. Smith will be on a rampage, and sports talk in New York will be enraged. 

The young Spurs will be spending their summer basking in the glory of winning a championship already, thinking they are at the beginning of a generational run. They’ll think they're immune from the “nobody repeats anymore” phenomenon, and maybe they’ll skip enough steps to fall victim to it. 

Is that all wishful thinking? Maybe. But I know that I don’t want Wembanyama coming back next season with something to prove. The best chance to eliminate the Spurs from the Finals picture next season is for them to win it now and hope they're not mature enough to handle it. 

So if you’re looking to get emotionally invested, grab yourself some black and silver gear. Spurs fans like to yell “Por Vida,” so we don’t want to go too far with that. We’ll just say “Por Ahora” and join forces for a couple of weeks.