Party like it's 1999.

That's not just a Prince lyric — it's the literal last time the New York Knicks played in the NBA Finals, and it's the song the DJ blasted at the Radio City Music Hall watch party the moment New York finished off its sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Knicks are going to the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years.

New York completed a four-game sweep of the Cavs with a 130-93 demolition in Game 4 on Monday night — a 37-point closeout that was every bit as emphatic as the rest of this run. Walt "Clyde" Frazier and Patrick Ewing presented the conference championship trophy on the court. Grown men cried in the stands. A fanbase that has waited through a quarter-century of mostly miserable basketball finally got to exhale.

Now the only question left is who they'll play — and that gets decided starting tonight, with the Oklahoma City Thunder holding a 3-2 lead over the San Antonio Spurs and a chance to close out the Western Conference Finals in Game 6.

Let's celebrate the moment, then break down which Western opponent is actually the better matchup for New York.

27 Years in the Making

Some context on just how long it's been.

The Knicks last reached the Finals in 1999, the lockout-shortened season, when an eighth-seeded New York team rode Latrell Sprewell, Allan Houston, Marcus Camby, Larry Johnson, and Charlie Ward all the way to the championship round — without an injured Patrick Ewing for the Finals themselves. They lost that series 4-1 to the San Antonio Spurs, the Tim Duncan/David Robinson "Twin Towers" team that won the franchise's first title.

Sit with that for a second, because it's about to matter: the last time the Knicks were in the Finals, they lost to the Spurs. More on that in a minute.

Since 1999, the Knicks have been one of the saddest stories in American professional sports. Isiah Thomas. The Eddy Curry years. The brief Linsanity spark. The Carmelo era that never broke through. Years and years of lottery picks, fired coaches, and a fanbase that kept showing up to Madison Square Garden anyway. This is the franchise's third Finals appearance since winning their last title in 1973 — they also lost to Houston in seven games in 1994.

Now, under first-year head coach Mike Brown — hired after the surprising firing of Tom Thibodeau last summer, despite Thibs leading the Knicks to the conference finals — New York has put together one of the most dominant playoff runs in recent memory. They went 12-4 through three rounds. They swept the 76ers. They swept the Cavaliers. ESPN noted there's basically no precedent for their point differential through a playoff run like this.

And here's the poetry: Rick Brunson — Jalen's father — played for that 1999 Knicks Finals team, and now sits on the Knicks' coaching staff while his son leads this one. A Brunson on the floor then, a Brunson on the floor now. Full circle.

Half of the current Knicks roster wasn't even alive in 1999. The youngest player, Pacôme Dadiet, wasn't born until 2005. This is a generational moment for a franchise and a city.

Now the Big Question: Spurs or Thunder?

The Western Conference Finals are tied — wait, no. As of tonight, the Thunder lead 3-2 and can close it out in Game 6 in San Antonio. The Spurs have to win tonight to force a Game 7. So the most likely outcome is an OKC-Knicks Finals. But the Spurs are very much alive, and a Wemby-led Game 6 could flip everything.

So which one does New York actually want?

Let's break down both matchups honestly.

The Case for Wanting the Spurs

Revenge narrative aside, the Spurs are the more favorable matchup on paper. Here's why:

They're younger and less experienced. The Spurs are led by a 22-year-old (Wembanyama), a rookie (Dylan Harper), and a second-year guard (Stephon Castle). For all their brilliance, this is a team making its first deep playoff run together. The Knicks are battle-tested, veteran, and have now won 12 playoff games. In a seven-game Finals, experience matters, and New York would have a decisive edge in playoff poise.

The Knicks can attack Wemby in space. Karl-Anthony Towns is a uniquely difficult matchup for a traditional rim-protecting big. KAT can pull Wembanyama away from the basket, shoot over him, and force the Spurs' defensive anchor to defend on the perimeter — exactly the way KAT torched Embiid in Round 2. Neutralizing Wemby's rim protection by dragging him to the three-point line is a real, viable game plan, and the Knicks have the personnel to run it.

Brunson against the Spurs' guards. San Antonio's perimeter defense, while improving, isn't elite. Brunson against Castle and Harper — two excellent but young defenders — is a matchup New York would happily take. Brunson has feasted on every guard he's faced this postseason.

The depth advantage. The Knicks go nine deep with playoff-tested players. The Spurs rely heavily on their young core and a thinner supporting cast. Over seven games, New York's depth would wear San Antonio down.

The one danger: Wemby is the great equalizer. The reason you might not want the Spurs is the same reason they're in the conference finals — Victor Wembanyama is a cheat code. He's averaging close to 30 in this series with monster rebounding and rim protection. One generational player can steal a Finals series on his own. If anyone on either Western team can single-handedly drag a team to a title, it's Wemby. That's the risk.

But on balance? The Spurs are the more winnable series for New York. Younger, thinner, less experienced — with one terrifying exception under the basket.

The Case for Wanting the Thunder (Or Rather, Fearing Them)

The flip side: the Thunder are the buzzsaw nobody wants.

They're the best team in basketball, full stop. OKC won 60+ games, swept Phoenix, swept the Lakers, and entered the conference finals on a 10-game playoff win streak. They have an MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a defensive monster in Chet Holmgren, the deepest roster in the league, and the best defense in the NBA two years running. They are, by every available metric, the championship favorite.

The depth nightmare. Remember when OKC's bench dropped 57 points in Game 2 against the Spurs? That depth is the Knicks' biggest concern. New York's rotation is deep, but OKC's is deeper, and the Thunder can wear teams down with waves of fresh, switchable, high-motor defenders. In a seven-game series, that depth could be the difference.

SGA is the best player either team would have. Shai is the reigning-MVP-level guard who can get a bucket whenever he wants. The Knicks have good perimeter defenders in Anunoby and Bridges, but containing SGA for a full series is a different challenge than anything they've faced. He's a tougher cover than anyone Cleveland, Philly, or Atlanta threw at them.

The defense travels. OKC's defense is the one thing that could genuinely shut down New York's offense. The Knicks won the East by being deeper and more balanced than everyone. OKC matches that depth and defends at a higher level. That's a problem.

If the Knicks are being honest with themselves, the Thunder are the matchup that should scare them. OKC is built to win a championship, and a New York-OKC Finals would likely open with the Thunder as clear favorites.

So What's the Verdict?

If you're the Knicks, you want the Spurs.

Not for the revenge story (though beating the franchise that ended your last Finals run, 27 years later, would be poetic as hell). You want the Spurs because they're the more winnable series — younger, thinner, less experienced, and beatable if you can drag Wemby away from the rim and let Brunson cook against their guards.

The Thunder, by contrast, are the team that's been the championship favorite all season. They're deeper than you, they defend better than you, and they have the best player in any potential Finals matchup. A Knicks-Thunder Finals would have New York as the underdog.

The cruel irony? The most likely outcome is the one the Knicks would least prefer. OKC leads 3-2 and can close out tonight. The basketball gods may well be setting up the exact Finals matchup that's hardest for New York — the buzzsaw Thunder against the Cinderella-no-more Knicks.

Unless Wemby has something to say about it tonight.

Tonight's Game 6 Is Everything

Spurs vs. Thunder, Game 6. Tonight, 8:30 PM ET. San Antonio.

OKC leads 3-2 and can punch its Finals ticket with a win. The Spurs, backed by a roaring San Antonio crowd that hasn't hosted a Finals-stakes game in over a decade, have to win to force Game 7.

The Knicks will be watching from home, already qualified, already resting, with the Finals set to begin Wednesday, June 3 regardless of how long the Western series goes. The Western champ gets home-court advantage in the Finals — the one disadvantage of New York's early clinch.

If OKC closes it out tonight, the Knicks get the buzzsaw. If Wemby forces Game 7 and the Spurs find a way, New York gets the more favorable — and far more poetic — matchup against the team that beat them in '99.

Either way, the Knicks are in the NBA Finals for the first time since Prince's favorite year. After 27 years of waiting, New York basketball is back on the biggest stage in the sport.

Party like it's 1999. The Finals start June 3.

NBA Finals Game 1: Wednesday, June 3 at 8:30 PM ET. The Knicks await their opponent — decided starting tonight in San Antonio.