After the Spurs’ season ended with a 4-1 NBA Finals loss to the Knicks, Shaquille O’Neal delivered a blunt message to Victor Wembanyama: get stronger in the weight room. Spurs coach Mitch Johnson, meanwhile, praised the growth Wembanyama showed in his first po
The Spurs season didn’t just end on a scoreboard. It ended on a night where Victor Wembanyama had to absorb the sharp reality that comes when the game gets more physical, more physical still, and then physical again.
San Antonio’s NBA Finals run finished with a 94-90 Game 5 loss to the New York Knicks. closing out the best-of-7 series with a 4-1 defeat. The swings had already started—after Spurs’ Game 4 included a historic 29-point lead that they let slip. they surrendered a 16-point advantage in Game 5 as the Knicks sealed the series.
Shaquille O’Neal watched it all and didn’t hide what he thinks Wembanyama needs next. After the Game 5 series-clinching loss, the Hall of Fame center and ESPN analyst pointed to one priority for the summer: strength.
“As good as he’s going to need to get stronger. ” O’Neal said. adding that when a player becomes a dominant big man. “people are going to force. and a lot of times he couldn’t handle it.” He didn’t map out an elaborate plan—he made it simple. “So. I don’t know what he’s going to do this summer. but he definitely needs to get in that weight room and get stronger.”.
O’Neal also referenced the moments where Wembanyama was pushed around in Game 5 and at different points throughout the Finals series against the Knicks. For him, those scenes weren’t a knock on talent—they were a signal of what has to change if the next step is winning a championship.
When Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson spoke after the loss. he went in a different direction—focused on what he believes Wembanyama has already become. Johnson commended the All-Star’s growth across 2025-27. after Wembanyama delivered the Defensive Player of the Year award and then made his first Finals appearance in his first postseason.
“I think it’s grown tremendously,” Johnson said. “I think he’s stepped into every moment with the appropriate amount of fearlessness and also respect for the moment and being exactly who he is. And he’s bringing his teammates and everybody else along with him. It’s been pretty fun to observe and be a part of.”.
Johnson’s praise was rooted in what Wembanyama did as the Spurs’ leader during their run to the Western Conference title and into the NBA Finals. And with the season now over. his message was about building on a breakout year—while O’Neal’s was about closing the one gap he believes showed up most clearly when the Knicks got stronger with their physicality.
The contrast is stark: one man points to immediate. tangible offseason work. while the other emphasizes the leap already made in the postseason. Either way. the Spurs are headed into summer with the same lesson burned in—when the playoffs tighten. strength and control decide whether growth turns into titles.
Victor Wembanyama Shaquille O'Neal Mitch Johnson Spurs Knicks NBA Finals Game 5 94-90 29-point lead Defensive Player of the Year