The Five Role Players Who Can Swing the Knicks-Spurs NBA Finals

Superstars have always ruled the NBA, but role players are the lifeblood of championship contenders.

In today’s league it’s all but impossible for even the top talent in basketball to single-handedly win games and drag a team to title contention. In order to seriously compete for championships, stars must be flanked by players who complement their talents and are not only willing but eager to accept the responsibility of taking on the lesser tasks out on the court. Someone needs to do the dirty work of setting screens and crashing the glass, of chasing down the opponent’s top scorer and spacing the floor without touching the ball for minutes at a time.

These are the players who can and will swing the outcome of pivotal games. They also tend to fit into archetypes, ranging from do-it-all utility players to board men to three-point specialists and everything in between.

The Knicks and Spurs know this very well. The last two teams left alive in the 2026 NBA playoffs, both sides have reaped the benefits of employing hard-working players who embrace their roles—in an existential sense as well as within the game plan. And to be clear, we aren’t talking about guys like De’Aaron Fox or Karl-Anthony Towns, players talented enough to be No. 1 options on lesser teams who instead flank superstars like Jalen Brunson and Victor Wembanyama. Nor are we even talking about starting-level players widely recognized as elite in certain areas of their game like Stephon Castle or the Mikal Bridges-OG Anunoby wing duo.

No, a true role player goes under the radar more often than not and their skillset is uniquely suited to one particular aspect of basketball. They know what they do best and (more importantly) what the team needs from them in order to win the day. Under the bright lights of postseason play all that gets magnified to a significant degree and a big performance in a clutch spot can ensure they are remembered forever. In the NBA Finals that rings even more true, with recent history dotted with heroes like Payton Pritchard, Bruce Brown, Jordan Poole and Bobby Portis; go back a little further and we’re talking about Matthew Dellavedova or Shaun Livingston.

As we embark upon this year’s matchup between New York and San Antonio, here are five role players you need to know—because odds are one of these guys will have the chance to change everything with a big shot or clutch stop.

Josh Hart, Knicks

Archetype: Utility forward
Playoff stats: 11.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.8 steals

Hart is as close to the NBA’s version of a true utility player as there is in the league. Sometimes he’s in the starting lineup; other times he comes off the bench. Sometimes the Knicks feature Hart as a screener every time down the floor on offense; other times he’s tasked with standing in the corner in hopes of dragging the opposing center out from the paint. He’ll be used as the primary point-of-attack defender and a backside roamer during the same possession. No matter what he’s asked to do or how he’s asked to do it, Hart tends to step up.

Despite being listed at 6'5", he plays de facto center for New York when Towns is on the floor, grabbing nearly nine boards per game this playoff run. When his shot is falling Hart can put up big scoring numbers, and even when it’s not he’ll stuff the stat sheet in other ways. Beyond the box score he’s the heartbeat of this Knicks team. As the Finals begin, look to see where Hart is trying to impact the game the most—because that’s usually where New York needs the most help. And as the least-threatening shooter of the usual starting five, expect Hart to be dared to make open shots when the game gets tight. Don’t be surprised if he drains those shots, either, no matter what his numbers might say.

Julian Champagnie, Spurs

Archetype: Fifth starter
Playoff stats: 11.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 39.3% three-point shooting

By virtue of his excellent performance in Game 7 against the Thunder, the NBA world at large is already familiar with how Champagnie can swing a game. The fourth-year forward hit six three-pointers to, well, spur the Spurs to their Finals appearance, his most makes from deep in a single game all playoffs. He’s the connective piece in San Antonio’s starting lineup and a great story on top of it. Champagnie takes the floor alongside four lottery picks as a former undrafted free agent who famously got waived by the 76ers so Mac McClung could compete in the slam dunk contest.

Champagnie is, in many ways, the stereotypical role player for a Finals team. He won’t be given the toughest defensive assignment and probably won’t run a pick-and-roll all series long. But the 24-year-old is reliable and not prone to making mistakes on either end of the court. Stats-wise he’s also the second-best shooter in the rotation and the spacing he can provide will be key in giving Wemby as much space to work with as possible. And as Game 7 proved, Champagnie can catch fire in a big moment to change everything.

Miles “Deuce” McBride, Knicks

Miles McBrid — McBride’s shooting figures to be a big part of the Knicks’ Finals plan. | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Archetype: Three-and-D guard
Playoff stats: 6.9 points, 19.1 minutes, 42.9% three-point shooting

McBride might slide into the starting lineup at some point depending on how the Spurs defend Hart, but if not he’ll be the first sub off the bench for New York as the roster’s best two-guard. McBride has proven a good fit alongside Brunson thanks to strong point-of-attack defense and deadly marksmanship from deep; the 25-year-old drilled 41.3% of his three-point tries in the regular season and has posted an even better percentage this playoffs. His playing time has vacillated due to an inability to guard bigger opponents but any player who can go 7-for-9 from three (as he did to finish off the 76ers’ sweep) will get minutes in some way, shape or form.

McBride’s role against the Spurs isn’t as clear-cut as it might’ve been against the Thunder given San Antonio’s backcourt trends big and athletic. But McBride will probably get plenty of chances to lock down Fox or Devin Vassell. He might have to play an even bigger role if New York’s offense gets gummed up again due to the defense tilting completely away from Hart. No matter what, he’s the most gifted bench shooter in the Finals and has a sweet nickname to boot, so our bet is that he’ll have a big night at some point.

Luke Kornet, Spurs

Archetype: Backup big man
Playoff stats: 4.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 0.9 blocks, 13.1 minutes

Kornet has experienced a brighter spotlight than most role players because he is the primary (and only true) backup to the Spurs’ best player. When Wemby needs a breather the onus is on Kornet to make sure there isn’t a complete drop-off in center play and he struggled to deliver on that front for most of the Western Conference finals. But the final two games of the series were Kornet’s best—he held strong whenever the Thunder went after him and pulled off an all-time chasedown block in Game 7 that, to many, was the play that sent San Antonio to the Finals.

The Knicks won’t prove to be any easier a matchup. Kornet will be hunted by the ruthless New York offense and has his work cut out for him battling against fellow backup big man Mitchell Robinson on the boards. Unlike the other role players on this list, it won’t be Kornet’s best games that define this series—it’ll be his worst. Whether the Spurs crater in non-Wembanyama minutes figures to be a huge factor in the Finals and whether they do is pretty much entirely up to Kornet. Good or bad, he’ll be a big part of this series.

Landry Shamet, Knicks

Archetype: Bench sniper
Playoff stats: 5.7 points, 1.5 threes per game, 60% three-point shooting,

Shamet is a unique entry on this list even amongst his fellow bench players because he is good at one thing and one thing only: shooting threes. What’s more, there’s a chance he gets zero playing time in the Finals. Shamet is firmly behind eight players in the Knicks’ rotation and one of several options Mike Brown chooses from each night for a handful of filler minutes.

And yet, it feels like New York wouldn’t have made it this far without Shamet’s unusual knack for hitting timely shots. He got subbed in with nine minutes left and the Knicks down by 20 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals; Shamet would go 3-for-3 from deep over the rest of the game and didn’t leave the floor until New York finished off a truly epic comeback. He went 4-for-5 in Game 3 and another perfect 4-for-4 to complete the sweep. Maybe he just hates the Cavaliers! But it’s impossible to ignore Shamet’s ability to hit the floor completely cold and sink clutch shots when trying to anticipate who could swing the Finals. He won’t come out of nowhere to drop 30, but three points from Shamet at the right time could make all the difference—as the Knicks know well after the ECF.

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