Kevin Garnett Has a Plan to Help Wembanyama After Spurs Fall Short in the NBA Finals
Kevin Garnett believes Victor Wembanyama has one major area to sharpen after the San Antonio Spurs fell short in the NBA Finals against Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks. Wembanyama reached the biggest stage of his career for the first time, but the series ended with the Spurs missing out on the ultimate prize.
Now, Garnett thinks the next step for the young star is clear. The Hall of Famer sees a part of Wembanyama's game that can become much stronger, and with his own championship experience, he says he would be willing to help him work on it.
Speaking about Wembanyama's shortcomings and where Garnett can help him he said, "I'm probably one of the strongest people you could ever run up on, and I look how I look. But when it came down to setting up on the block and then pitching and getting it off down there, yeah, I was the best at that… I would love to work with big fella, but this generation has a preference on how they want to work out and I have to respect that."
Kevin Garnett says he's open to working out with Wemby:
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) June 19, 2026
"I'm probably one of the strongest people you could ever run up on, and I look how I look. But when it came down to setting up on the block and then pitching and getting it off down there, yeah, I was the best at that… I… pic.twitter.com/nngIlu55GC
The other layer to all of this is the way San Antonio handled the ending.
Nobody likes losing on that stage, but the Spurs' reaction after the final buzzer became its own talking point. Instead of sticking around for the usual post-series respect, the players headed straight back, and that instantly gave critics something to jump on. Some saw it as poor sportsmanship. Others saw it as a young team getting hit by the kind of pain they had never really felt before.
That is where Paul Pierce came in with a different view. He did not treat it like some huge scandal. To him, walking off after that kind of loss is not exactly unheard of. Players spend months chasing a championship, pour everything into the series, and then suddenly have to watch someone else celebrate right in front of them. Not everyone is going to process that gracefully in real time.
That does not take anything away from Jalen Brunson, either. His first instinct was to show respect, and that said a lot about him. But every player handles those moments differently.
For the Spurs, the optics were rough, but the emotion was understandable. They were close enough to believe they could win it, then had to watch the Knicks finish the job. If anything, that sting may be exactly what stays with Wembanyama and the rest of that group all offseason.
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This story was originally published June 19, 2026 at 10:32 PM.