San Antonio Spurs reserve center Luke Kornet is listed as questionable with illness ahead of Game 5 of the 2025 NBA Finals on June 13 at Frost Bank Center (7:30 p.m. CT), with the Spurs trailing the New York Knicks 3-1. Victor Wembanyama, 22, played 44 minutes in Game 4, scoring 24 points and 13 rebounds while shooting 9-of-25. The Knicks erased a 29-point deficit to win 107-106 via OG Anunoby's tip-in with 1.2 seconds remaining, the largest comeback in NBA Finals history.
Are the Spurs without Luke Kornet for Game 5 against the Knicks?
Luke Kornet is listed as questionable with illness and has not been a factor offensively in the Finals, averaging just under eight minutes per game, totalling three points and nine rebounds across the series. The blunt reality is that Kornet's statistical contribution barely registers. The problem is structural: he is the only available big man who gives Mitch Johnson a nominal alternative to playing Wembanyama into the ground.
Kelly Olynyk, Bismack Biyombo, and Mason Plumlee represent a clear drop-off from an already-limited option. Johnson's most likely adjustment is going small, with Carter Bryant absorbing center minutes, a role Bryant has filled sparingly and unconvincingly this postseason.
What Luke Kornet's absence means for Wembanyama's workload against the Knicks
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama and New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns. Image via: Eric Gay/ AP
In Game 4, Wembanyama played 44 minutes, five fewer than he logged across two overtime periods against Oklahoma City in the Western Conference Finals, and the fatigue was visible. He scored eight points after halftime on 3-of-14 shooting and missed two free throws with 1:47 remaining, turnovers the Knicks converted into the foundation of a 29-point comeback capped by OG Anunoby's tip-in with 1.2 seconds left.
Luke Kornet's stats in the NBA Finals 2026
- Game 1 (Jun 11 @ Knicks): 0 MIN, 0 PTS, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-0 FT, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 0 TO
- Game 2 (Jun 9 @ Knicks): 9 MIN, 2 PTS, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3PT, 2-2 FT, 5 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 0 TO
- Game 3 (Jun 6 vs Knicks): 8 MIN, 1 PTS, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3PT, 1-2 FT, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 0 TO
Johnson acknowledged the workload was a calculated risk. "He had a few more minutes tonight because we were trying to put the game away," the coach said. "With two days after this, what was at stake, we wanted to win the game."
The Spurs did not use any reserve big man in the second half as New York surged. With Kornet potentially unavailable, Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson will get an even cleaner path to the glass. Wembanyama knows what the moment requires. "The bad one would be giving up," he said after the loss. "The good one would be getting stronger through this, getting more together. I know this is what we're going to do."
Game 5 tips off Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CT at Frost Bank Center. The Knicks, one win from their first NBA title since 1973, arrive carrying the largest comeback in Finals history.
