As the Spurs and Knicks mirror their 1999 clash, Tennessee looks to a star-studded draft class and head coach Robert Saleh to recreate a legendary championship run.
The Tennessee Titans are in a really bad rut right now after going 3-14 for the last two seasons.
Those losing records have resulted in better draft picks, however. The Titans selected promising talents Cam Ward, Chimere Dike, Gunnar Helm, Kevin Winston and Elic Ayomanor in the 2025 NFL Draft.
This year, they selected Carnell Tate, Keldric Faulk, Anthony Hill Jr., Fernando Carmona, Nicholas Singleton, Jackie Marshall, Pat Coogan and Jaren Kanak.
The team improved in free agency as well.
Wan'Dale Robinson, John Franklin-Myers, Cor'Dale Flott and Alontae Taylor were the most significant acquisitions.
Even after improving both sides of the ball in free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft, Robert Saleh has his hands full entering his first season as head coach.
It will take a lot of work for this team to go from 3-14 to a playoff contender. However, one thing the Titans do have on their side is history.
In the NBA playoffs, the San Antonio Spurs recently outlasted the Oklahoma City Thunder in seven games to reach the NBA Finals. The Spurs will be facing the New York Knicks.
Something like this has happened before, and it was one of the best seasons in Titans history. The last time that the Spurs and Knicks met in the NBA Finals was when the Titans went to the Super Bowl.
The Spurs and Knicks were in the NBA Finals in 1999, and that season turned out pretty good for the Titans.
The Titans' path to the Super Bowl that year wasn't easy.
Tennessee barely got past the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card thanks to the legendary Music City Miracle that Kevin Dyson scored. The Titans then inched past Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts 19-16.
Tennessee beat the Jacksonville Jaguars for the third time that season in the AFC Championship Game, 33-14, to advance to the Super Bowl.
Then came the big game.
The Titans faced Kurt Warner and the St. Louis Rams and battled for four quarters. The Titans tied the game at 16 after a field goal from Al Del Greco. Warner then answered with a 73-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Bruce to give the Rams a 23-16 lead late.
Every Titans fan knows what came next.
Steve McNair and the offense made a heroic last-minute drive down the field and got inside the Rams' red zone. McNair had time for just one more play and threaded a pass to Dyson, who was stopped one yard short of the end zone to tie the game and force overtime.
It's been 27 years since the Titans were in the Super Bowl. Can they reach it now? Who knows.
It would be quite the turnaround if Saleh and the Titans went from 3-14 to the Super Bowl. It has been done before.
Mike Vrabel and the New England Patriots did something similar last season. The Patriots won four games in 2024, then went on a massive spending spree in free agency.
New England won the AFC East and lost to the Seattle Seahawks 29-13. The Titans followed that same blueprint this offseason in the hopes of a fast rebuild.
It's unlikely that the Titans will reach the Super Bowl this season, but it's not out of the ordinary. We'll see what the 2026 season has in store for us.
The stars are aligning once again just like they did in 1999.
