It’s only been 10 days since the New York Knicks won Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, coming back from a double-digit deficit for the fourth time in the series to take a 94-90 victory — snapping a 53-year title drought in the process. Considering how fresh the Knicks’ championship triumph is, fans continue to flex on the Spurs, including during the 2026 NBA Draft.
On draft night, the Spurs made their first selection with the 20th overall pick, selecting livewire forward Jayden Quaintance out of Kentucky. While Quantance hasn’t exactly done anything to draw the ire of the crowd that was present at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the Spurs did. Thus, Knicks fans who were in attendance were vociferously booing when commissioner Adam Silver came out to announce pick number 20.
Boos erupt at Barclays Center during the Spurs' pick. pic.twitter.com/1FsVlke0Sk
— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) June 24, 2026
Knicks fans may have something extra for the Spurs organization after it was San Antonio that denied them a ring back in 1999. Winning a title this year was already sweet enough as it is for the city of New York, but to do so while avenging their Finals defeat 27 years ago has to make their triumph all the more satisfactory.
Considering how the Knicks felt as though the Spurs neglected to give them credit at every turn, fans do feel emotional, adding even more to the sweetness of winning the third title in the history of the franchise.
Nonetheless, this must have made Quaintance’s moment a bit more sour than he had envisioned, as this was supposed to be his big moment, a culmination thus far of all his hard work in getting to the NBA.
This is not the first time anybody has faced boos as he made his way to the stage during the NBA Draft; Knicks fans would know how their jeers fueled Kristaps Porzingis 11 years ago. Perhaps Quaintance would use this as fuel to become an impact player for San Antonio as soon as next season.
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