The New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs are about to tip off a 1999 Finals rematch on Wednesday night, and the coolest part about this series is that we are guaranteed to see the eighth different champion in the last eight years.

The league looks completely different than it did back in 1999. That was a weird, lockout-shortened year where the Finals didn't even start until mid-June, which is right around when Game 6 is scheduled for this series. Back then, the games were absolute slugfests, with the Spurs averaging an 85-80 win. To put that in perspective, the Knicks have already scored more than 80 points in the first half alone twice during this playoff run. The teams back then combined for about six 3-pointers a game, which is basically what Julian Champagnie knocked down by himself to help San Antonio win Game 7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

There are also some crazy family ties here. Rick Brunson, who is an assistant coach for New York and the father of Knicks star Jalen Brunson, actually played in that 1999 series. Spurs coach Mitch Johnson was just a kid in middle school back then. But even with all the time that has passed, the storylines are identical. The Spurs are trying to build another dynasty around a 22-year-old giant in the paint, while the Knicks are trying to end a championship drought that goes all the way back to 1973.

Both groups have been rolling through the postseason. They rank at the very top in net rating and defense, and the Knicks are coming in on a scorching 11-game winning streak. Meanwhile, San Antonio just proved their resilience by knocking off the defending champs in a Game 7 on the road.

When you look at how Victor Wembanyama, Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and OG Anunoby match up, a few things are going to determine who wins it all.

First, the regular-season history is pretty interesting. San Antonio had the better overall record, but New York took two out of three matchups, including the NBA Cup championship game in Las Vegas. The Knicks handled Wembanyama better than almost anyone else, even handily beating the Spurs by 25 back in March. Both teams were pretty healthy for those games, so those matchups give us a real preview of what to expect.

The biggest question for New York is how to guard Wembanyama. Towns has the height to match up with him, but he tends to get into foul trouble, and Wembanyama is great at drawing whistles. The alternative is putting Anunoby on him. Even though Anunoby is shorter, he has the lower-body strength to keep Wembanyama from getting easy position deep in the paint.

On the other side of the ball, the Spurs like to let Wembanyama wander on defense by matching him up with Josh Hart and letting him ignore Hart on the perimeter. The Knicks countered this in the regular season by using Hart as a screener over and over again, forcing Wembanyama into high pick-and-rolls to open up space for Jalen Brunson, who will have his hands full with rookie defender Stephon Castle.

If the Spurs keep sagging off Hart, that leaves Towns with a massive advantage against smaller defenders like Champagnie or Devin Vassell. Towns is an incredibly accurate shooter and a great passer, so if he plays aggressively, the Knicks can easily exploit those mismatches. Finally, keep an eye on the corner 3-point line. Both teams generate a ton of looks from there, but the Knicks are hitting 42% of theirs in the playoffs while the Spurs have struggled at just 32%. Whoever connects on those open looks is likely walking away with the title.