Knicks’ Landry Shamet shows no signs of rust as heroics continue in NBA Finals Game 1

SAN ANTONIO — The Knicks waited 27 years for this night.

Landry Shamet had been waiting all his life.

While several of his teammates struggled with the effects of a lengthy layoff and/or the magnitude of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Shamet delivered another strong performance off the bench, leading all reserves with 13 points (5-of-9 from the field, 3-of-6 3-pointers) in the Knicks’ 105-95 win over the Spurs at Frost Bank Center.

Knicks guard Landry Shamet reacts after scoring during the first quarter of NBA Finals Game 1. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

After losing his rotation spot early in the postseason — by scoring a total of 14 points in six games in the first round while shooting under 29 percent from the field, then adding three points in the first two games against Philadelphia — Shamet has become Mike Brown’s most valuable reserve on the back half of the team’s 12-game winning streak.

In the Eastern Conference finals, Shamet hit 11-of-12 3-pointers in the sweep of the Cavaliers. The 29-year-old has now scored at least 12 points in five of his past seven games.

“I’m a believer that everything you go through, everything might seem small or big, prepares you for where you’re ultimately headed in one way or another, even if it doesn’t line up perfectly, whatever the case may be,” Shamet said before Game 1. “Really grateful, like I said, for all the highs and lows I’ve been through personally. Yeah, I mean, all I know right now is that I’m here. Like I said, I’m trying not to get too reflective, open up that can of worms of looking back on everything, quite yet. There’s four more wins between me and doing that, that I’m more worried about.

“One win at a time really. That’s where I’m at. Definitely think that everything you go through, everything you live through, good and bad, prepares you for where you’re headed.”

Landry Shamet of the Knicks shoots a 3-point basket during the against the San Antonio Spurs during Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 3, 2026, at Frost Bank Center. NBAE via Getty Images

Shamet — whose seven postseason appearances rank first on the Knicks — expected to be on this stage long before coming to New York.

He was a part-time starter on one of the title favorites in the 2020 playoff bubble (Clippers). He was part of the Brooklyn superteam, whose title dreams died on Kevin Durant’s toes. He played for a top-seeded team in Phoenix that fell in the second round.

Now, after seeing limited playing time under Tom Thibodeau — averaging just 7.5 minutes during last year’s playoffs — Shamet is making the most of a moment that may be passed down to generations that haven’t been born yet.

“He just plays so hard,” Brown said. “Seeing him play when I was trying to get the job and throughout the course of the years seeing him step up in big moments … When you see those things you know he has that ability and so for me the confidence is always there.”