Wemby vs. the Knicks: It's fitting that a marquee matchup awaits in the NBA Finals

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The marquee outside of Madison Square Garden in December 1949 once promoted the following event, which was happening a couple of days later: “Geo Mikan vs Knicks.”

Not “Minneapolis Lakers vs. Knicks.” Just George Mikan. The NBA's first one-of-a-kind big man.

It feels like history repeating itself now. The NBA Finals start Wednesday, with the San Antonio Spurs facing the Knicks for the title. And the marquee for this series — in San Antonio, in New York, in Paris and countless other points around the globe — may as well say “Wemby vs Knicks.”

Victor Wembanyama keeps stepping onto bigger and bigger stages. The latest version of the NBA's one-of-a-kind big man — a title once held by the likes of Mikan, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal — will have all eyes on him in this series, and probably for every game he plays for the rest of his life. He's not “on the way” to superstardom. He's there. And this series is giving him his first chance at putting champion on his resume.

“This is the best basketball on the planet that’s being played right now,” Wembanyama said after San Antonio won Game 7 at Oklahoma City to capture the Western Conference title. “And the crazy thing is ... I want to do that 15, 20 more times. Let’s hope it doesn’t become an addiction. Maybe it is already.”

It may as well be an addiction. San Antonio is clearly addicted to him.

There's no Major League Baseball in San Antonio, no NHL team, no NFL team. As far as big-time pro sports go, it's the Spurs and nothing else. And those who drive five minutes in any direction in this city will see the proof.

School's out in San Antonio. It's summer. The city's public library was buzzing Monday, and a few kids just happened to be noticing a new display not far from the front desk. “Read Like Wemby,” it said, and it featured five books that Wembanyama has been known to read in the past. An Instagram account — wembybooks — starting posting images of him with books, local media in San Antonio caught on and the library came up with an idea.

“We want to make sure people have access to those and people can read them," said Scott Williams, the marketing manager for the San Antonio Public Library. "And so, we thought, ‘Let’s do a display and let’s do a book list and make sure that people can easily find what Wemby’s reading so that they can read it too.’”

The results?

“The interest has been huge," Williams said. "Ultimately, we’re looking at two things. We want people to pay attention to the library, we want people to come here and notice us, and we want people checking out these books and reading. It's been a success on both fronts.”

So, Wemby gets people reading.

He also gets people to visit seafood restaurants — even when they're closed.

Rudy's Seafood isn't open on Monday. In a 15-minute span Monday afternoon, four cars showed up. They weren't there for lunch. They were there to see the Spurs murals — current players and coaches are featured, alongside a freshly re-painted Gregg Popovich, a newly added George Gervin and Manu Ginobili, among others.

Mark and Christina Lerma have family in San Antonio, but they live in Nebraska. They're not going to the NBA Finals — ticket prices are way too high — but they headed to Rudy's to pay homage to their favorite team. Mark was wearing a newly acquired Spurs NBA Finals hat and Wembanyama jersey; Christina was dressed all in black and showed off video of a Spurs dress she was wearing on Sunday.

They've loved the Spurs forever. And Wembanyama, as one might guess, has quickly acquired a special place in their fandom.

“He's dominant,” Mark Lerma said. “He changes the game.”

They proudly pointed out that Wembanyama has been to the restaurant to see the tribute to the Spurs, which has been up for years and gets updated as needed.

“A lot of people stop and do selfies,” said Roland Ramirez, who owns the restaurant. “They're doing graduation pictures with the backdrop. It's pretty nice for the community. You know, the Spurs are pretty big right now here in San Antonio.”

He has met Wembanyama in the past and was blown away by how he carries himself.

“The first vibe I got off of him was he was just very humble,” Ramirez said. “He talked to my wife ... he was very humble with everybody. You could see all the emotion he had when he won the Western Conference finals and the crying, he's just a very emotional guy, very humble, very, very nice guy. That's what people are really feeding off. He's humble, but he's hungry for a championship. And when he gets on the floor, he's a whole different monster.”

He's different. Just like Mikan was 77 years ago. Wemby vs. the Knicks. A marquee matchup awaits.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) celebrates while Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams walks off court as time expires in the second half of Game 7 of the Western Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs series Saturday, May 30, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama celebrates a defensive stop against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half of Game 7 of the Western Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs series, Saturday, May 30, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama celebrates after Game 7 of the Western Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs series win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Saturday, May 30, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, center, walks over to Spurs fans as he holds his MVP trophy and celebrates after Game 7 of the Western Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs series win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Saturday, May 30, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

FILE - George Mikan of the Minneapolis Lakers polishes off the sign on the marquee of Madison Square Garden in New York, Dec. 13, 1949, to make sure his name shines brightly for tomorrow's game. (AP Photo/Jacob Harris, File)

TORONTO (AP) — Canada is failing Jewish Canadians and the community is being brutally targeted by hate, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday.

Carney said across Canada, antisemitism has surged to levels not seen in the post-World War II era. He noted that last year over two-thirds of all religion-motivated hate crimes were directed at Jewish Canadians. Jews make up only 1% of the population.

“The horror and shame are global. Our actions must be local. They start with clearly admitting that Canada’s civic compact is failing Jewish Canadians,” Carney said at Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto.

Carney said antisemites in Canada have fired bullets at Jewish schools and thrown firebombs at synagogues and attacked community centers. He said they have targeted Jewish-owned businesses and drove Jewish students from common spaces on university campuses.

Carney said antisemitism plagues Europe, Australia and the United States. But he said the crisis of antisemitism in Canada is "specific, severe and demands a targeted response.”

There has been a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents globally since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, 2023.

Noah Shack, the CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said before the speech that the Canadian government must do more to strengthen community security and combat hate.

Carney said his government has introduced legislation over the last year to combat antisemitism and other forms of hatred. He said $75 million (US $54 million) in funding will provide faith-based institutions with things like security infrastructure and additional security personnel.

“It pains me that we had to commit $75 million to this, any dollar to this,” Carney said.

The prime minister announced the launch of a new Ministerial Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion that will examine the nature, scale and drivers of antisemitism. It will measure its impacts and investments in education, prevention and community safety will follow, his office said.

“I want to be clear about what these potential measures are, and what they are not. They are not curtailments of freedom of expression. They are not constraints on legitimate criticism of any government on any subject anywhere,” Carney said.

“They are the basic standards we owe one another, in our shared public institutions, to ensure that no Canadian community is driven from those institutions by hatred.”

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivers remarks at Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto on Monday, June 1 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is flanked by members of his security detail as he delivers remarks at Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto on Monday, June 1, 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks to community leaders and community members at Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto on Monday, June 1 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks to community leaders event at Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto on Monday, June 1 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)