The 2026 NBA Finals are set on one side. The New York Knicks swept the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals to lock the franchise's first NBA Finals trip since 1999. The other side is still up for grabs. The San Antonio Spurs forced a winner-take-all Game 7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder with the home win in Game 6 at Frost Bank Center to tie the Western Conference Finals 3-3, with Sunday's Game 7 in Oklahoma City deciding the Knicks's NBA Finals opponent. We previewed what Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden looks like under both possible jersey and uniform matchups: Knicks vs Thunder or Knicks vs Spurs.
The Eastern Conference Champion Is Locked
The Knicks are the 2026 Eastern Conference Champions and the confirmed home team for Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden. The home Game 1 uniform pairing for New York is the Association Edition white jersey, the team's traditional home uniform with the cursive NEW YORK wordmark and orange and blue trim. The 2026 NBA Finals patch debuts on the back of the jersey at the top center just below the collar, a placement change from the upper-left chest position the Finals patch has lived in for most recent Finals. We broke down the back-patch placement in detail in our Knicks 2026 NBA Finals jersey first-look post.
The Madison Square Garden floor is already painted with the 2026 NBA Finals court branding as well, the league bringing the dedicated Finals court logo back at center court after a multi-year break, full breakdown in our 2026 NBA Finals court branding post. The home half of the Finals matchup is fully designed and ready. The visitor's half decides Sunday at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
Scenario A: Knicks vs Thunder 2026 NBA Finals Jersey Matchup
If Oklahoma City wins Game 7 Sunday at Paycom Center, Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals at MSG looks like Knicks Association white at home against Thunder Icon Edition blue on the road.
Knicks Association white · Home · MSG
Thunder Icon blue · Road
This is the textbook NBA Finals jersey pairing. Home team in traditional white, road team in primary color, both Association and Icon Editions doing the job they were designed for. The Knicks white-and-blue identity against the Thunder blue-and-orange identity gives the broadcast a clean color contrast in every cut. The Knicks orange trim and the Thunder orange trim share a warm secondary color across both jerseys, which threads a subtle visual connection through the matchup without either side losing distinction. Game 1 jersey matchup grade: A.
The series story under this scenario: the league's two surviving small-market vs big-market identities meeting on the biggest stage, OKC's clean modern Thunder identity against the most heritage-loaded brand in the NBA. The Thunder blue is a strong broadcast color in the MSG lighting environment and the road jersey gives the visiting side full Thunder identity on the floor.
Scenario B: Knicks vs Spurs 2026 NBA Finals Jersey Matchup
If San Antonio wins Game 7 Sunday in Oklahoma City after forcing the decider with the Game 6 home win at Frost Bank Center, Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals at MSG looks like Knicks Association white at home against Spurs Icon Edition black on the road.
Knicks Association white · Home · MSG
Spurs Icon black · Road
This is the sharpest possible high-contrast pairing the NBA Finals can serve. Pure white against pure black with no halfway tones in the middle. The Knicks orange and blue trim is the only chromatic element on the floor, and against the Spurs black and silver minimalism the orange pops hard in every camera cut. The Spurs Icon black road uniform is one of the cleanest single uniforms in the league and the silver and black against the Knicks white gives a sharp graphic separation between the two teams. Game 1 jersey matchup grade: A.
The Spurs City Edition Fiesta colorway is the wild card under this scenario. If San Antonio elects to wear the Fiesta colors at any point during the Finals on the road in New York, the matchup grade swings dramatically based on whether the league allows it for Finals games and which game the Spurs slot it into. We covered the Spurs Fiesta jersey strategy and how it pulled the WCF Game 1 matchup all the way down in the Conference Finals grading in our Conference Finals jersey tracker.
The series story under this scenario: the most decorated franchise of the past three decades against the most iconic franchise in NBA history, two storied identities both anchored in heritage colorways. The Spurs Fiesta wild card is the single biggest variable in the entire Finals look depending on which scenario plays out.
Sunday Decides the West
Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals tips off Sunday at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City with the series tied 3-3 after the Spurs took Game 6 at Frost Bank Center to force the winner-take-all decider. Oklahoma City is projected to run the Association Edition white at home for Game 7, the same uniform the Thunder wore for the Game 5 win at Paycom Center against the Spurs in Icon Edition black — the cleanest white-versus-color call of the series and the same matchup we graded a perfect 10 out of 10 on the Conference Finals jersey tracker. San Antonio's road look defaults to the Icon Edition black with the Fiesta City Edition still the wild card the Spurs have yet to deploy in the playoffs.
A Thunder win Sunday clinches the Western Conference and locks in Scenario A: Knicks vs Thunder at MSG for Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals. A Spurs win on the road in Oklahoma City makes Scenario B official with San Antonio as the road team at Madison Square Garden for Game 1.
What Game 1 at MSG Looks Like Either Way
Regardless of whether Thunder or Spurs survives the West, the home half of the Finals matchup at Madison Square Garden is fully locked in design language. Knicks home in Association white with the 2026 NBA Finals patch on the back of the jersey at the top center, MSG floor painted with the dedicated 2026 NBA Finals court logo at center court, the New York crowd in playoff blue and orange for the first Finals home game in 27 years. The visiting half of the design language is the only variable, and both possible answers grade out at an A jersey matchup for Game 1.
We will publish the full 2026 NBA Finals jersey tracker the moment the Western Conference Champion is decided, grading every game of the series with the same same-jersey-same-score and same-uniform-pairing rules we used across both Conference Finals trackers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the 2026 NBA Finals teams?
The New York Knicks are the 2026 Eastern Conference Champions after a 4-0 sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Western Conference Final is tied 3-3 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs after the Spurs took Game 6 at Frost Bank Center on 2026-05-28 to force a winner-take-all Game 7 Sunday 2026-05-31 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. The Western Conference Champion will be the Knicks's 2026 NBA Finals opponent.
Where will Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals be played?
Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals will be at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Knicks have home court advantage for the 2026 NBA Finals as the higher-seeded team out of the Eastern Conference, so the Finals begin and end at MSG with the 2-2-1-1-1 home-away series format.
What jersey will the Knicks wear in Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals?
The New York Knicks will wear the Association Edition white home uniform with the 2026 NBA Finals patch on the back of the jersey at the top center, just below the collar and directly above the player nameplate. The Association white is the Knicks traditional home uniform with the cursive NEW YORK wordmark in blue and orange trim.
What jersey will the Thunder wear in Game 1 if they win the Western Conference Finals?
If the Oklahoma City Thunder advance to the 2026 NBA Finals, they will wear the Icon Edition blue road uniform in Game 1 at Madison Square Garden. The Icon blue is the Thunder's primary color road jersey with the THUNDER wordmark across the chest in white with orange trim.
What jersey will the Spurs wear in Game 1 if they win the Western Conference Finals?
If the San Antonio Spurs come back to win the 2026 Western Conference Finals, they will wear the Icon Edition black road uniform in Game 1 at Madison Square Garden. The Icon black is the Spurs traditional road jersey with the SPURS wordmark in white and silver trim, the same uniform San Antonio wore at home in Game 6 to force a Game 7 Sunday at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
Will the Spurs wear the Fiesta City Edition jersey in the 2026 NBA Finals if they advance?
The San Antonio Spurs have rotated the Fiesta colorway City Edition jersey at home in San Antonio across the 2026 Western Conference Finals, but City Edition uniform usage in the NBA Finals depends on league approval per game. If the Spurs advance to the 2026 NBA Finals, they could request to wear the Fiesta City Edition for select games, but the default expectation is the Icon Edition black on the road in New York.
When does Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals start?
The 2026 NBA Finals are scheduled to begin Thursday, June 4, 2026 with Game 1 at Madison Square Garden. The full Finals schedule and tipoff times will be confirmed by the NBA once the Western Conference Champion is decided.
Who will broadcast the 2026 NBA Finals?
ESPN broadcasts the 2026 NBA Finals on ABC with Mike Breen on play-by-play and Richard Jefferson and Tim Legler as analysts. Full broadcast team rankings across ESPN, NBC, and Amazon Prime are in our 2026 NBA Playoff announcers ranked post.
