Fans are not feeling what former San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Sean Sweeney said about the team’s loss in the NBA Finals to Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks.
In a recent appearance on “The Ryen Russillo Show,” Sweeney admitted that he’s lost plenty of sleep over the Spurs falling short in their mission to win the NBA title despite being the series favorites against the Knicks.
But what really riled up many Knicks fans was Sweeney seemingly not giving full credit to the Knicks for simply being the better team. Instead, Sweeney primarily attributed San Antonio’s NBA Finals defeat to “attrition” after battling the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals and to “bad luck.”
“I’ve lost a lot of sleep over that series” -Sean Sweeney on The Finals pic.twitter.com/luloyOskD2
— The Ryen Russillo Show (@TheRyenRussillo) July 15, 2026
— Knick With The Knack (@KnickWitDaKnack) July 15, 2026
Give as little credit to the opponent as possible. Big time Kenny Atkinson vibes, good luck Magic fans.
— GM (@Knicksinitup) July 15, 2026
All I hear are excuses! Attrition, bad luck, Media, youth and the most laughable point was him mentioning that IF THE GAMES WERE 46 MINUTES THEY WOULD HAVE WON 4-1? Like WTF 😳 Why not just tell the truth, is it that hard? The Knicks played better when it counted the most!
— TO (@TO2602) July 16, 2026
What an absolutely moronic response, your feelings don’t matter, the duration of the game don’t matter, the final score is the only thing that matters.
— Nico (@FranklyMrNick) July 16, 2026
Maybe they lost because of this guy? If the game was only 10 minutes long then we would have won …..? The game is 48 minutes not 46. We were the better team but still lost mentality. Participation medal mentality.
— Kahnin (@KahninMusic) July 16, 2026
San Antonio held leads in each of the five games in the Knicks series, but it was not the Knicks’ fault that the Spurs failed to take advantage of those cushions.
At the end of the day, it is not how San Antonio squandered its leads in the series that fans remember, but how the Knicks overcame the odds and took down Victor Wembanyama and company in what turned out to be one of the most memorable NBA Finals in recent years.
As for Sweeney, he will see more of the Knicks, as he is now in the Eastern Conference after getting hired by the Orlando Magic to be their next head coach.
