Boos erupt – Ten days after the New York Knicks ended a 53-year title drought with a 94-90 Game 5 win over the San Antonio Spurs, Barclays Center in Brooklyn turned hostile again. On draft night, boos rained down when commissioner Adam Silver announced the Spurs’ 20th over
By the time commissioner Adam Silver stepped out at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the emotions had already traveled a long way.
It was only ten days after the New York Knicks won Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. The victory came 94-90, built on a comeback from a double-digit deficit for the fourth time in the series, and it snapped a 53-year title drought for New York.
That fresh championship high didn’t just stay in the parade route. It spilled into the 2026 NBA Draft.
The Spurs made their first selection with the 20th overall pick, taking livewire forward Jayden Quaintance out of Kentucky. Quaintance may not have given Knicks fans much new to aim at on paper. but the crowd at Barclays wasn’t interested in what might happen next. When Silver came out to announce pick number 20, boos erupted loudly—directed at the Spurs’ choice.
The moment was captured as “Boos erupt at Barclays Center during the Spurs’ pick” in footage shared from the draft floor.
For Knicks fans, the hostility wasn’t only about one year. Winning this year’s title was already sweet. But doing it while avenging the team’s Finals defeat to the Spurs in 1999 added a sharper edge to the celebration. San Antonio’s 1999 denial of a ring has lingered for decades in New York. and now it had been overturned in the present.
The Knicks also took the extra emotional route—fans felt the Spurs were neglecting to give them credit at every turn, and after the championship, that resentment became fuel. That’s the mood that followed the Spurs into Brooklyn and landed right on Quaintance’s night.
To be clear. Quaintance still got what every prospect dreams about: the stage. the announcement. and the chance to hear his name called as part of a franchise’s next chapter. But it was also the kind of welcome that can make a “big moment” feel a little colder than expected. This was supposed to be the culmination of the work it takes to reach the NBA. yet it arrived with jeers.
It’s not the first time Knicks fans have turned draft-room noise into pressure. Eleven years ago, their jeers were part of the moment around Kristaps Porzingis as he made his way to the stage.
For San Antonio, the hope now is that the same boos that followed a pick can be turned into something usable—fuel. Maybe Quaintance uses the reaction as motivation, maybe he grows into an impact player for the Spurs as soon as next season.
For Knicks fans, the story has a simpler ending: they got their title, they got their Finals revenge, and when the Spurs walked back into Barclays Center with the 20th pick, they weren’t going to miss their chance to make sure San Antonio heard about it.
New York Knicks San Antonio Spurs 2026 NBA Finals Game 5 94-90 Barclays Center 2026 NBA Draft Adam Silver Jayden Quaintance Kentucky Kristaps Porzingis boos