KIGALI, RWANDA, May 31, 2026 – Rwanda’s RSSB Tigers today defeated Angola’s Petro de Luanda 90-88 to win the 2026 Basketball Africa League (BAL) Championship, which took place at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda, and reached fans in 214 countries and territories. The Tigers are the first team from Rwanda to win the BAL Championship.
The 2026 BAL season set records across attendance, social media engagement, and partner support. More than 110,000 fans attended BAL games this season, including record attendance for the group phase games in South Africa and Morocco. The BAL generated a record of more than 1.1 billion views on social media this season, and a record 22 marketing, merchandising and institutional partners supported the league throughout the season.
Following the game, BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall and FIBA Africa President Anibal Manave presented the RSSB Tigers with the BAL Championship Trophy and Tigers guard Craig Randall II with The Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy for winning the 2026 BAL Most Valuable Player Award. Randall recorded per game averages of 36.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists during the season, setting a BAL record for most points in a game when he scored 54 points against Tanzania’s Dar City on April 4.
The Tigers went 6-2 during the Kalahari Conference group phase and Playoffs, defeating Morocco’s FUS Rabat and Egypt’s Al Ahly in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, to advance to the Championship. Libya’s Al Ahly Ly defeated Al Ahly 106-98 in the third-place game earlier today.
Notable attendees throughout the 2026 BAL Playoffs and Finals included NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum; FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis; NBA Africa CEO Clare Akamanzi; Fall; Manave; Dallas Mavericks President and Alternate Governor Masai Ujiri; BAL Ambassadors Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Ian Mahinmi and Chiney Ogwumike; WNBA legend and Boston Celtics Vice President of Team Operations and Organizational Growth Allison Feaster; and former WNBA player and 2026 FIBA Hall of Fame inductee Clarisse Machanguana.
The BAL has also announced the Coach of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Sportsmanship Award winner, All-BAL First Team, All-BAL Second Team, All-BAL Defensive First Team, All-BAL Defensive Second Team and Ubuntu Award winner. The voting panels varied for each award and comprised fans, coaches, team captains, media, broadcasters, and scouts.
2026 BAL Coach of the Year
RSSB Tigers head coach Henry Mwinuka led the team to a 4-1 record and first-place finish in the Kalahari Conference group phase before leading the team to its first BAL Championship. Mwinuka is the first Tanzanian to win the award.
2026 BAL Defensive Player of the Year
RSSB Tigers center Mangok Mathiang received The Dikembe Mutombo Trophy after helping his team to a 7-2 record and recording per game averages of 16 points, 14.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks.
2026 BAL Sportsmanship Award
Al Ahly Ly point guard Mohamed Sadi received The Manute Bol Trophy for exemplifying the ideals of sportsmanship and camaraderie.
2026 BAL Ubuntu Trophy Presented by Qatar Foundation
On May 27, Nairobi City Thunder forward Ariel Koranga was honored with the 2026 BAL Ubuntu Award in recognition of his efforts in his native Kenya to use basketball to empower young women. Through a program that combines basketball training with mentorship, education, life skills and mental health support, he has reached more than 300 athletes across the country, including from underserved communities.
A block that will forever live in San Antonio Spurs lore.
The Spurs led the Oklahoma City Thunder 97-91 with about 6 1/2 minutes left in the fourth quarter on Saturday night, and had just turned the ball over near midcourt. Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein drove down the right side and was about to try a dunk when Kornet, chasing the play, met him at the basket.
Kornet got the block and the building didn’t get the explosion of sound that the dunk would have brought. The Thunder never got any closer, and the Spurs went on to win 111-103 to earn a spot in the NBA Finals.
“Biggest play of the game,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said.
If Hartenstein gets the dunk, does the game change? Nobody will ever know, thanks to Kornet and the play he made.
“Luke, he’s been there, he’s seen it, and he makes winning plays every game,” Spurs guard Stephon Castle said. “I mean, none of them are to the magnitude of that one.”
Kornet checked out of the game not long afterward; when he got to the bench about a dozen Spurs reserves and staffers were waiting with bear hugs, celebratory punches and shoves and who knows what else. He breathed a ton of life into the Spurs contingent, and they rode that wave all the way to the final horn.
Someone from the bench, Kornet said, compared his block to LeBron James’ chasedown block of Andre Iguodala in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals.
“Let’s see which one has more staying power in the record books or history or whatever,” Kornet said.
OK, so maybe it wasn’t quite that big.
It was still sensational — and one that had the Spurs marveling long into the night.
“That was big,” Spurs center Victor Wembanyama said. “So many big-time plays, so many guys stepping up, oh my God. It’s an unreal chance. My life is amazing and being with these guys, living these things with these guys that I love so, so, so much, it’s amazing.”
The nightly recap from May 30, 2026, as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the Western Conference Finals.
An unforgettable series.
An unrelenting Game 7.
An unbreakable San Antonio spirit.
Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs are Western Conference champions.
The 2026 NBA Finals are next.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
May 31, 2026
Spurs Win Classic: Wemby & San Antonio outlast OKC in gutsy Game 7, advance to NBA Finals
Wemby Wins WCF MVP: Maturing through the game’s biggest moments, Wemby lets it all out in Game 7
Growing Together: The story of San Antonio’s rapid ascension to the ultimate stage
Finals First Look: Knicks vs. Spurs, Brunson vs. Wemby, strength vs. strength
West Finals Frames: An electric series of West rivals told through seven defining snapshots
BUT FIRST … ⏰
The 2026 NBA Finals tip off in three days…
Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals gets underway on Wednesday as the West champion Spurs host the East champion Knicks on ABC (8:30 ET).
Hit the NBA Finals Hub for complete Finals coverage, including the latest news, in-depth features, full series schedule and more.
1. WEMBY, TEAM EFFORT LEAD SPURS TO WIN IN ELECTRIC GAME 7
An all-time West Finals was down to its final quarter.
The Thunder were 12 minutes away from a return to the NBA Finals
The Spurs were 12 minutes away from completing their climb from the brink of elimination
Two powerhouses who refused to give an inch. Two rivals who had given each other everything they could handle.
All season long. All series long. All Game 7 long.
With an NBA Finals berth on the line – on the road against the reigning NBA champions – Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs didn’t back down from the moment.
They seized it.
Spurs 111, Thunder 103: Up three entering the 4th, Wemby (22 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk) and the Spurs put together a historic closing quarter to edge a scalding Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (35 pts, 9 ast, 3 stl) and OKC in an epic winner-take-all West Finals finale, sending San Antonio to its first NBA Finals since 2014 | Recap
Spurs Strike First: San Antonio set the tone early, grabbing a 32-25 lead in the 1st quarter behind Wembanyama and Stephon Castle (16 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast)
Thunder Strike Back: But Shai turned up, scoring 13 in the 2nd to get OKC within three at the half
3rd-Quarter Swings: The back-to-back Kia MVP wasn’t done, hitting tough shot after tough shot and dropping 12 in the 3rd to spark a 13-4 closing burst, countering a 16-2 Spurs run to get back within three
Then the 4th.
A seven-game, 346-minute marathon between two titans. Down to 12 minutes.
And it was the young Spurs who made it theirs.
It Started With Rain: Keldon Johnson (11 pts) made the first move, drilling two quick 3s, before De’Aaron Fox (15 pts, 5 ast) buried another
Fifty-three ticks later, Wemby hit a 3 of his own. Then came a Johnson layup. A 17-9 Spurs surge had suddenly stretched the lead to 97-86
OKC’s Opening: But the Thunder answered, trimming the lead to six as Wembanyama picked up his fifth foul
The Substitution Horn Blew: Wemby out. Luke Kornet in. 6:48 left
The Thunder were +37 in Wemby’s 96 bench minutes during the series entering Saturday. This was their chance.
Instead, it was the Spurs’ spark.
The Block: Moments later, an Isaiah Hartenstein steal sent him streaking up the open floor. It was just him and the rim. Until a black jersey soared in: “Blocked by Kornet!”
A meeting above the rim sent the ball flying off the backboard. Eighteen ticks later, Castle drilled a jumper for San Antonio. 99-91 Spurs
“That’s the definition of a winning play,” said Wemby of Kornet’s block. “Whoever wanted it more.”
It was a four-point swing, and it swung the game for San Antonio.
Julian Champagnie (20 pts, 6 reb, 6 3s) drilled a 3 soon after. Dylan Harper (12 pts, 7 reb) tipped in an offensive board. Then sank a massive 3 of his own.
When the Thunder made one last push? The Spurs had one last answer. This time, from Castle, whose putback layup pushed San Antonio’s lead back to eight with 59 ticks left.
The buzzer sounded. The Spurs were Western Conference champions.
Jesse D. Garrabrant + Morgan Givens/NBAE via Getty Images
An outpouring of emotioncame over Wembanyama as the Spurs embraced at center court.
They had just done something special.
Not just knock off the defending champs. Not just win an epic seven-game series that will go down in Playoff lore. Not just reach the franchise’s first NBA Finals in 12 years.
But all of the above – together. With a historic close.
Complete Heat: Led by Johnson (8 pts, 2-2 3s) and Wemby (6 pts, 1 ast, 1-1 3s), seven Spurs scored in the 4th, as the team shot 61.1% from the field
Singular Close: Since play-by-play tracking began in 1997-98, the Spurs are the first team to close out a Conference Finals or NBA Finals Game 7 with seven different scorers and over 60% shooting in the 4th
That 4th quarter has them four wins away from an NBA title.
“So many big-time plays, so many guys stepping up,” said Wemby postgame. “It’s an unreal chance … living these things with these guys that I love so, so much – it’s amazing…
“I want to have this feeling plenty, plenty more times in my life.”
2. WEMBY WINS WEST FINALS MVP IN HISTORIC POSTSEASON DEBUT
Christian Petersen/NBAE via Getty Images
All alone, 24 feet from the hoop, Devin Vassell caught the ball up six with six seconds left.
At the other end of the floor, Victor Wembanyama pulled his jersey over his face, overcome with emotions the moment it hit him:
Wembanyama and the Spurs were going to the NBA Finals.
From a sophomore season cut short due to deep vein thrombosis, and the life-altering implications of that, to a team goal of earning a top-6 Playoff seed, Wemby and his Spurs now sit atop the West.
Wemby made a splash early this season through his patented thoughtful soundbites, the Spurs exceeding expectations, and the competitive challenge he issued to his fellow All-Stars
Wemby came out hot in February’s All-Star Game, setting the intensity that made for an instant classic, and getting his flowers from the game’s best. Soon after, he was facing questions about being the ‘face’ of the league: “Supply and demand, and I’m here to supply.”
He also supplied defensive play strong enough to claim the Kia Defensive Player of the Year award, while campaigning for more as an MVP Finalist: “I believe I’m the most impactful player, defensively, in the league.”
Walk The Walk: But the bigger the statement, the greater the accountability Wemby took, as his maturation as a leader pushed his Spurs core to new heights in the postseason.
“That’s on me,” Wemby said after logging a triple-double with more blocks than points in the West Semis Game 1 loss to Minnesota. “I used too much energy on things that didn’t really help our team.”
“I have trouble making my teammates better right now … I need to be more of a team player,” Wembanyama said after going down 2-1 earlier in the West Finals
Wemby got the mix and mission right when it mattered most, in Games 6 and 7. Alongside his leadership and helping his teammates, he elevated his own play.
Playoff Pop: Wemby’s 35 points in his first postseason action against the Blazers set a franchise record for a Playoff debut and an NBA record for points in a debut half (21)
Three & D: He’s the first player ever to collect 50+ blocks and 25+ made 3s in a single Playoff run
Finals Giants: Wemby (27.3 ppg) became the youngest player to lead his team in scoring over a run to the Finals since 1957, joining LeBron James and Kobe Bryant as the only players age 22 or younger to do so
“He has such a vision of who he wants to be, as a person and as a player,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “And the commitment and investment that he puts into that vision is nothing like I’ve ever seen before.”
“This [MVP] doesn’t mean anything but the fact that we’re a team. We got that together … for all of us.”
3. GROWING TOGETHER: SPURS’ RAPID ASCENSION TO NBA FINALS
Ronald Cortes/NBAE via Getty Images
This unrelenting West Finals opened with an instant classic in Game 1: a double-OT thriller that Wemby took over, single-handedly outscoring OKC in the final OT to hand the Thunder their first Playoff loss.
But to hand the Thunder their fourth loss – ending their title defense and punching a ticket to the NBA Finals – it took more than one superstar.
It took a team. One that grew alongside Wemby amid his meteoric rise.
The Turnaround: Last June, the Spurs held the No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft — two years removed from finishing at the bottom of the Western Conference.
Now, they’re one of just two teams left standing, marking one of the rarest single-season turnarounds in NBA history.
How’d they do it? By turning a collection of young talent into a complete team.
Foundational Drafting: It started with three consecutive top-5 picks: Wembanyama, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper
Star Development: But they weren’t just individual Lottery hits. They grew together, each taking major leaps as San Antonio quickly evolved into a contender
Wemby’s Rise: A rapid year-by-year ascent – going from Kia Rookie of the Year in 2023-24, to All-Star in 2024-25, to Kia First Team All-NBA and an MVP finalist this season – has Wemby among the game’s elites.
Castle’s Climb: The 2024 No. 4 overall pick followed Wemby as a Kia ROY, then took another leap this season, averaging career highs across the board (16.7 pts, 5.3 reb, 7.4 ast)
Harper’s Emergence: The 20-year-old found another gear when the games mattered most, with six of his 12 20-point performances coming after March 1, including three during the Playoffs – where he’s shined brightest
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
And San Antonio didn’t just plant the seeds of its future.
It helped them grow – pairing its rising (and bonafide) stars with veteran leadership and a supporting cast that bought into the bigger picture.
Silver Fox: De’Aaron Fox, an All-Star himself, brought experience and leadership to the backcourt, easing the burden on Castle and Harper as they grew into bigger roles
Sixth Man Soul: Keldon Johnson, the longest-tenured Spur, embraced whatever role was needed, earning himself Kia Sixth Man of the Year through steady scoring and instant energy
Strength In Numbers: Julian Champagnie, Devin Vassell, Luke Kornet and rookie Carter Bryant each played pivotal roles, providing shooting, defense and depth that helped turn a talented young core into a complete team
Christian Petersen/NBAE via Getty Images
That complete team turned in one of its most complete efforts of the season in last night’s Game 7.
Core Shines: Wemby (22), Castle (16), Fox (15) and Harper (12) combined for 65 points
Champagnie Pops: Champagnie (20 pts, 6-10 3s) joined Klay Thompson (1x) and Steph Curry (2x) as the only players in NBA history to splash 6+ 3s in a Conference Finals Game 7
Cast Closes: Johnson sparked San Antonio’s 31-26 4th quarter with two 3s, Kornet provided the game-changing block, then Vassell hammered home the exclamation dunk
Now, a team that entered Saturday with just one starter who had ever played in a Game 7 has made postseason history.
Weighted by Playoff playing time, the Spurs are the second-youngest team to ever reach the NBA Finals (25.06 years old), trailing only the 1976-77 Trail Blazers (25.03).
Last June, they were picking No. 2 in the Draft.
This June, they’ll play for an NBA championship.
“What we can do is endless,” said Harper on making the Finals. “This is just the beginning of something really special.”
4. FIRST LOOK: KNICKS VS. SPURS IN 2026 NBA FINALS
The 2026 NBA Finals are set.
This year’s ultimate matchup features that rare mix of what’s both current and classic.
The West’s No. 2 Spurs will host the East’s No. 3 Knicks, two teams that met back in the 1999 Finals — and the Emirates NBA Cup Championship six months ago.
27 Years Later: New York is making its first Finals appearance since that 1999 series, which San Antonio won 4-1 — the franchise’s first of five titles
12 Years Removed: The Spurs are back for the first time since 2014, when they defeated the Heat in five games
Future Foretold: More recently, the Knicks met the Spurs to decide the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup on Dec. 16, with New York winning, 124-113
Strength vs. Strength: The Knicks lead the Playoffs in both Off and DefRtg while the Spurs are top-3 in both categories (3rd Off, 2nd Def)
The Knicks, out for their third title and first since 1973, roll into these Finals on an 11-game winning streak, just the fifth team in NBA history with a streak that long in the Playoffs. Their only two losses have come by 1 point each.
Accomplished Company: They join the 2017 Warriors, those ‘99 Spurs, the 2001 Lakers — all crowned champions — and the 1989 Lakers
Up Big: The Knicks’ +262 over their last 11 games is the highest point differential over any 11-game span in NBA history, regular-season and Playoffs
All Business: New York owns a +39.3 average win margin and 3-0 record in series-clinching games this postseason, with wins of 51 pts vs. Atlanta, 30 vs. the Sixers and 37 vs. the Cavs
With Wemby driving their run as the youngest leading scorer on a Finals-bound team in 69 years, the growing Spurs have covered their lack of experience with an ability to learn and apply on the fly in these Playoffs.
Surging Defense: The Spurs are the first team to total over 150 steals and 130 blocks in three rounds before the Finals since the 1974 Playoffs, the first postseason where these stats were tracked
Finals Familiar: Harrison Barnes and Mikal Bridges are the only players in this series who have reached this stage before; Barnes with the Warriors (1-1, 2015 & 16) and Bridges with the 2021 Suns (0-1)
“Winning the Larry O’Brien, it’s a childhood dream,” Wemby said postgame. “It’s almost like the meaning of my life.”
5. WEST FINALS FRAMES: SNAPSHOTS OF AN EPIC SERIES
NBA Finals week is here.
But before we dive into more stories, let’s relive a thrilling West Finals through a few of our favorite frames – from a legendary Game 1 to the Spurs’ electric series-clinching win on Saturday.
Games 1 & 2 | Melissa Tamez/NBAE via Getty Images
Games 3 & 4 | Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images
Games 5 & 6 | Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images
Game 7 | Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
Names are made in the Playoffs, but Game 7s give us icons.
Who will play their way into the history books and push their team to the NBA Finals?
Spurs. Thunder.Game 7. Tonight at 8 ET on NBC & Peacock.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
May 30, 2026
Win Or Go Home: Everything to know for tonight’s Western Conference Finals Game 7 between the Spurs and Thunder
Thunder’s Path: From 8-0 to Game 7, how No. 1 OKC moved within one win of a Finals return
Spurs’ Mission: How San Antonio forged its own experience and forced the champs to Game 7
Been Here Before: Shai and OKC face first Game 7 since 2025 Finals clincher
Tone-Setter: Thriving in big moments, Wemby leads Spurs into his first career Game 7
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Game 7 Saturday…
It all comes down to this in the West. Forty-eight minutes to decide this chapter in one of the NBA’s hottest rivalries, and set up an NBA Finals matchup with the Knicks. Spurs-Thunder, Game 7, tonight (8 ET, NBC/Peacock | Tap To Watch).
Injury Report: OKC has listed both Jalen Williams (hamstring) and Ajay Mitchell (calf) out for Game 7.
Game 7 Reads: The Athletic’s Jared Weiss writes about Wemby setting the tone in Game 6 … Tim Reynolds of the AP covers the difference in the two teams heading into Game 7 … Andscape’s Marc Spears profiles Mitch Johnson, who’s earned the ‘full trust’ of the Spurs org.
1. EVERYTHING TO KNOW FOR GAME 7 IN 3 MINUTES
Morgan Givens/NBAE via Getty Images
Tonight marks the 160th Game 7 in NBA history. But few have looked quite like this one.
It’s the fifth of these 2026 Playoffs, tying the all-time mark for most in any NBA postseason.
It’s a win-or-go-home showdown between elite rivals, staged by two teams who know each other inside-and-out at this stage.
And, this isn’t even their first win-or-go-home matchup this season(!)
Tonight’s Spurs-Thunder finale (8 ET, NBC/Peacock) is adding up to be a Game 7 for the ages. Here’s everything you need to know:
Most-Familiar Foes: Tonight represents the 12th meeting between San Antonio and OKC this season, just the second time in 30 years two teams have met that many times in a single season across the regular-season and Playoffs
Win-Or-Go-Home, Again: In the short history of the NBA Cup, this is already the second time that two teams who met in a win-or-go-home Knockout Rounds game meet in a Playoff Game 7 later that year
Spurs Took Round 1: San Antonio eliminated OKC – just its second loss of the season at that point – in the Cup Semifinal on Dec. 13. It was their first of the 12 meetings, building a rivalry forged in the season’s biggest moments
West Parallels: The other two teams to wage two win-or-go-home games in the same season were the 2024-25 Rockets and Warriors, in the Cup Quarterfinals (Rockets win) and their First Round Game 7 in the Playoffs (Warriors win)
Houston and Golden State also represent the last time the West Finals went to a Game 7, with the Warriors moving on to claim their second straight NBA title in 2018 – the NBA’s last repeat champion
The reigning champs are out to rewrite that fact, with a return trip to the Finals on the line tonight, while San Antonio aims to uphold the other end of that trend: A Spurs win would guarantee an eighth different champion in the last eight NBA seasons.
Storm’s Edge: The Thunder are 4-2 in Game 7s in the OKC era, and 4-0 at home, where they’ll host tonight. Home teams are 117-42 all-time in Game 7s. The visiting Spurs are 4-7 all-time, and 1-5 on the road
“Anything can happen in a Game 7,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said Thursday… “It being in your building is nice – it’s going to be nice having our fans behind us – but it doesn’t really mean anything. You have to… be the better basketball team.”
Pressure Tested: OKC last played a Game 7 in last year’s Finals, topping Indiana to win it all. Chet Holmgren set a Finals Game 7 record with 5 blocks, while Shai (29 pts, 12 ast) claimed series MVP
Still Shai: This will be the fourth Game 7 of Gilgeous-Alexander’s career (2-1), where the West’s 2026 postseason scoring leader (27.1 ppg) averages 27.7 ppg
Trophy Tussle: This is the second time ever that the season’s Kia MVP and the Kia Defensive Player of the Year will face off in a Game 7. Shai and Wemby are also just the third pair of MVP finalists to meet in a Game 7 in 40 years
Two Titans: This is the sixth Conference Finals Game 7 between the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds since 1983, and the first Game 7 in that same span featuring the teams with the two best records from that regular season
“I think a lot of fans are going to be happy,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said, looking ahead. “They say it’s the best line in sports, I believe.”
Game 7, tonight.
2. HOW THE NO. 1 THUNDER GOT TO GAME 7
Eight wins, zero losses.
The 2025 NBA Champion Thunder started their title defense undefeated through two rounds, before running into their fast-charging rival Spurs in the West Finals.
Six games of pure cinema later, and OKC needs one decisive win to return to the championship round. Here’s how the Thunder got to Game 7.
The West’s top seed followed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s lead in its First Round series against Phoenix, as the MVP built up from 25 points in the Game 1 win, to 37 with 9 assists in Game 2, to a Playoff career-high 42 in Game 3
Next-Man Experts: The return of Jalen Wiliams’ hamstring issues in Game 2 forced the Thunder to utilize the rotation depth they strengthened through injuries in the regular-season. Ajay Mitchell (15 pts) started Game 3’s win
Storm Warning: Game 4’s series-clincher showcased Thunder themes still paying off two rounds later, with strong play from SGA (31 pts), Chet Holmgren (24 pts, 56.3 FG%), Mitchell (22 pts), Isaiah Hartenstein (18 pts, 12 reb), and Alex Caruso (4-6 3s)
“Just confidence-wise, as a group, it’s good to get the Playoff runs started off that way,” Shai said after Game 4… “You never know what can happen.”
What happened next, in Round 2, was a concerted defensive effort by the No. 4 Lakers on SGA. After netting 135 total points on 55.1 FG% against Phoenix, L.A. held Shai to 98 points in four games on 47.1 FG%
In his place, OKC got lead scoring efforts from Holmgren (20.0 ppg) and Mitchell (22.5 ppg), with Ajay logging his two highest-scoring Playoff games in Games 3 (24 pts) and 4 (28 pts). Jared McCain (11.5 ppg, 12-19 3s) also broke through
Taking the first three games, OKC faced its first 4th-quarter deficit of these Playoffs in Game 4, as late as the final minute. But Holmgren slammed home the go-ahead dunk with 33 ticks left, to put away LeBron’s (24 pts) Lakers
Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images
“Hats off to my teammates,” Shai said. “Obviously, their goal was to make my teammates beat them in the first three games, and my teammates did exactly that…”
“In the Playoffs, no two games are the same,” he continued. “Especially when you change opponents. The challenges are all coming up.”
The Thunder’s greatest challenge this year returned in the form of the No. 2 Spurs, who took Game 1 of the West Finals in OKC. The champs responded to take Games 2 and 3
SGA rallied from Game 1 (7-23 FG) for 30 and 26-point outings in the two straight wins. OKC went back to Hartenstein (10 pts, 13 reb) in Game 2 vs. Wemby, and the Thunder bench scored 76 points in Game 3, headlined by 24 from McCain
Game 5 put the champs within a win of a Finals return after they took the lead for good as the 1st quarter ended. 32 from Shai, 22 from Caruso and 20 from McCain in his first-career Playoff start helped put the Spurs’ season on the line
But after San Antonio sent the series to a final, deciding game, Caruso said the defending champs still control their own fate.
“They make it challenging but, for the most part, Game 7’s got to be about us… making sure we’re doing the stuff we need to do at a high level.”
3. HOW THE NO. 2 SPURS GOT TO GAME 7
Ronald Cortes/NBAE via Getty Images
Seven players making their NBA Playoff debuts.
Multiple games without their MVP finalist Victor Wembanyama and All-Star floor general De’Aaron Fox.
It’s been an up-and-down first venture into the postseason for this young Spurs core. Here’s how the West’s No. 2 seed has learned and applied in real-time to come within a game of the NBA Finals.
“The atmosphere was different,” noted Victor Wembanyama in his first Playoff action, where he paced a Game 1 win over the Trail Blazers with a Spurs’ debut-record 35 points, including an NBA-record 21-point debut half
Game 2 saw Wembanyama enter concussion protocol after a fall. San Antonio lost its lead at home in the 4th, but responded in Game 3, with Wemby out. Stephon Castle (33 pts) and Dylan Harper (27 pts) provided Playoff career-highs
Wemby returned for Game 4 with San Antonio up 2-1, posting a monster line (27 pts, 11 reb, 4 stl, 7 blk) for his first road Playoff win. He then fueled the Game 5 closeout (17 pts, 14 reb, 6 blk), as his Spurs claimed their first elimination game
“We gained experience and I’m still hungry for even better matchups,” Wemby said. “Definitely a different feeling to win against somebody and think that their season’s over.”
Anthony Edwards and the No. 6 Wolves were hungry too, coming to town as San Antonio’s next matchup. Minnesota was out to return to its third consecutive West Finals.
Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images
Ant’s Surprise: Returning early from injury, Edwards’ (18 pts) 11-point 4th quarter stole the show in Game 1, despite Wemby’s (11 pts, 15 reb) historic 12-block triple-double
“Offensively, I used too much energy on things that didn’t really help our team, so that’s on me,” Wembanyama said postgame
The Spurs bounced back to hand the Wolves their largest-ever Playoff loss (133-95) in Game 2, and Wemby (39 pts, 15 reb) soared to his highest-scoring Playoff game at the time to grab the series lead in Game 3
Following his first-career ejection in Game 4, Wembanyama returned on a mission in Game 5 (27 pts, 17 reb, 5 ast, 3 blk), and Castle (32 pts, 11 reb) led the charge in Game 6, where San Antonio led by as many as 37 to eliminate Minnesota
Overcoming the physical series with the Wolves, Castle looked ahead to a West Finals matchup with a Thunder squad San Antonio went 4-1 against in the regular-season.
“We know it’s going to be tough to knock them off, but we’re pretty confident we could do it,” said Castle.
That confidence was on full display in Game 1, a double-OT thriller on OKC’s home floor, with an electric 41-point, 24-rebound performance from Wemby and a Spurs’ Playoff-record seven steals from Harper (24 pts)
Clamps: After the champs won two straight, San Antonio rallied in Game 4 behind Wemby’s complete performance (33 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast, 3 blk) and a defensive showing that held OKC to a season-low 38-point 1st half
Facing elimination after dropping Game 5, the young Spurs forced Game 7 on the strength of their 32-13 3rd-quarter takeover, where they held OKC scoreless for over 7 minutes in a 20-0 run. Wemby (28 pts, 10 reb, 3 blk) set the tone
So what will it take for San Antonio to unseat the reigning champion Thunder in Game 7?
“First thing is: listening to the experienced people, whether it’s on our team, on our staff, or outside,” Wemby said. “We got the chance to have plenty of those [people] around.”
4. SGA, OKC FACE FIRST GAME 7 SINCE 2025 FINALS CLINCHER
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
After San Antonio took Game 6, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was asked about fatigue.
“Oh I’m good, I’m ready to go. Biggest game of my career… and if I lose, my season’s over.”
Put that way, the situation sounds daunting. But for SGA, the biggest games of his career have been some of his best.
Mountain Climb: In the first of two Game 7s for the Thunder in last year’s title run, Shai (35 pts, 3 stl) outscored Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray to help put away the Nuggets in the West Semis
“Every night’s an opportunity to learn and get better, and we’re gonna do so,” Shai said at the time of his young Thunder team gaining the big-game experience they lacked, in real-time
Crash Course: That OKC squad was the 2nd-youngest team ever to win a championship, with an average age weighted by playing time of 25.36
Completing that final step took one more Game 7, OKC’s most recent before tonight. SGA (29 pts, 12 ast, 2 blk) rose up again in that deciding game of the Finals against Indy, claiming the series’ MVP honors
Almost a year later, the champs now know exactly what it takes to win in these moments.
“It’s going to take more than just Shai to beat [the Spurs], to beat any team at this point,” Alex Caruso said… “It’s just about being confident in each other and going out there and playing.”
Responding Thunder: Over the last two Playoff runs, OKC is a perfect 9-0 following a postseason loss, including Games 2 and 5 of this West Finals
Can the Thunder again avoid consecutive losses tonight in Game 7 to return to the NBA Finals?
“He felt… an obligation to set a tone for us in a variety of ways,” coach Mitch Johnson said of Wemby during these West Finals.
Tonight, the 22-year-old is set to play the biggest game of his young career, in the series’ deciding game. Fortunately for the Spurs, their tone-setter’s never shied away from big moments.
Alien Unwrapped: All eyes were on Wemby for his Christmas Day debut at MSG in 2024, where he set the Spurs’ record for most points on the Holiday with 42
Emirates NBA Cup: Wemby (22 pts, 9 reb, 21 min) returned from a calf injury to fuel the Spurs’ knockout of OKC in this season’s Semifinals, before adding 18 points in the Cup championship against the Knicks
“Wemby set the tone,” said All-Star Game MVP Anthony Edwards of first-time starter Wembanyama, who led Team World with 33 points on the day
“That’s kind of what Vic does,” Dylan Harper said in the West Finals. “He kind of steps into big moments. He’s never afraid of it. He loves that moment.”
Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images
Embracing the moment in his first-career Playoffs has set Wembanyama apart as the first player ever to total 50+ blocks and 25+ made threes in one postseason run
No Nerves: He’s also set a Spurs’ franchise record for most total points (350+) in a player’s first Playoffs
“I think he has shown in his three years – in a lot of different situations, with a lot of different circumstances – that he’s gonna attack those moments,” coach Johnson said
Names are made in the Playoffs, but Game 7s give us icons.
Who will play their way into the history books and push their team to the NBA Finals?
Spurs. Thunder.Game 7. Tonight at 8 ET on NBC & Peacock.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
May 30, 2026
Win Or Go Home: Everything to know for tonight’s Western Conference Finals Game 7 between the Spurs and Thunder
Thunder’s Path: From 8-0 to Game 7, how No. 1 OKC moved within one win of a Finals return
Spurs’ Mission: How San Antonio forged its own experience and forced the champs to Game 7
Been Here Before: Shai and OKC face first Game 7 since 2025 Finals clincher
Tone-Setter: Thriving in big moments, Wemby leads Spurs into his first career Game 7
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Game 7 Saturday…
It all comes down to this in the West. Forty-eight minutes to decide this chapter in one of the NBA’s hottest rivalries, and set up an NBA Finals matchup with the Knicks. Spurs-Thunder, Game 7, tonight (8 ET, NBC/Peacock | Tap To Watch).
Injury Report: OKC has listed both Jalen Williams (hamstring) and Ajay Mitchell (calf) out for Game 7.
Game 7 Reads: The Athletic’s Jared Weiss writes about Wemby setting the tone in Game 6 … Tim Reynolds of the AP covers the difference in the two teams heading into Game 7 … Andscape’s Marc Spears profiles Mitch Johnson, who’s earned the ‘full trust’ of the Spurs org.
1. EVERYTHING TO KNOW FOR GAME 7 IN 3 MINUTES
Morgan Givens/NBAE via Getty Images
Tonight marks the 160th Game 7 in NBA history. But few have looked quite like this one.
It’s the fifth of these 2026 Playoffs, tying the all-time mark for most in any NBA postseason.
It’s a win-or-go-home showdown between elite rivals, staged by two teams who know each other inside-and-out at this stage.
And, this isn’t even their first win-or-go-home matchup this season(!)
Tonight’s Spurs-Thunder finale (8 ET, NBC/Peacock) is adding up to be a Game 7 for the ages. Here’s everything you need to know:
Most-Familiar Foes: Tonight represents the 12th meeting between San Antonio and OKC this season, just the second time in 30 years two teams have met that many times in a single season across the regular-season and Playoffs
Win-Or-Go-Home, Again: In the short history of the NBA Cup, this is already the second time that two teams who met in a win-or-go-home Knockout Rounds game meet in a Playoff Game 7 later that year
Spurs Took Round 1: San Antonio eliminated OKC – just its second loss of the season at that point – in the Cup Semifinal on Dec. 13. It was their first of the 12 meetings, building a rivalry forged in the season’s biggest moments
West Parallels: The other two teams to wage two win-or-go-home games in the same season were the 2024-25 Rockets and Warriors, in the Cup Quarterfinals (Rockets win) and their First Round Game 7 in the Playoffs (Warriors win)
Houston and Golden State also represent the last time the West Finals went to a Game 7, with the Warriors moving on to claim their second straight NBA title in 2018 – the NBA’s last repeat champion
The reigning champs are out to rewrite that fact, with a return trip to the Finals on the line tonight, while San Antonio aims to uphold the other end of that trend: A Spurs win would guarantee an eighth different champion in the last eight NBA seasons.
Storm’s Edge: The Thunder are 4-2 in Game 7s in the OKC era, and 4-0 at home, where they’ll host tonight. Home teams are 117-42 all-time in Game 7s. The visiting Spurs are 4-7 all-time, and 1-5 on the road
“Anything can happen in a Game 7,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said Thursday… “It being in your building is nice – it’s going to be nice having our fans behind us – but it doesn’t really mean anything. You have to… be the better basketball team.”
Pressure Tested: OKC last played a Game 7 in last year’s Finals, topping Indiana to win it all. Chet Holmgren set a Finals Game 7 record with 5 blocks, while Shai (29 pts, 12 ast) claimed series MVP
Still Shai: This will be the fourth Game 7 of Gilgeous-Alexander’s career (2-1), where the West’s 2026 postseason scoring leader (27.1 ppg) averages 27.7 ppg
Trophy Tussle: This is the second time ever that the season’s Kia MVP and the Kia Defensive Player of the Year will face off in a Game 7. Shai and Wemby are also just the third pair of MVP finalists to meet in a Game 7 in 40 years
Two Titans: This is the sixth Conference Finals Game 7 between the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds since 1983, and the first Game 7 in that same span featuring the teams with the two best records from that regular season
“I think a lot of fans are going to be happy,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said, looking ahead. “They say it’s the best line in sports, I believe.”
Game 7, tonight.
2. HOW THE NO. 1 THUNDER GOT TO GAME 7
Eight wins, zero losses.
The 2025 NBA Champion Thunder started their title defense undefeated through two rounds, before running into their fast-charging rival Spurs in the West Finals.
Six games of pure cinema later, and OKC needs one decisive win to return to the championship round. Here’s how the Thunder got to Game 7.
The West’s top seed followed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s lead in its First Round series against Phoenix, as the MVP built up from 25 points in the Game 1 win, to 37 with 9 assists in Game 2, to a Playoff career-high 42 in Game 3
Next-Man Experts: The return of Jalen Wiliams’ hamstring issues in Game 2 forced the Thunder to utilize the rotation depth they strengthened through injuries in the regular-season. Ajay Mitchell (15 pts) started Game 3’s win
Storm Warning: Game 4’s series-clincher showcased Thunder themes still paying off two rounds later, with strong play from SGA (31 pts), Chet Holmgren (24 pts, 56.3 FG%), Mitchell (22 pts), Isaiah Hartenstein (18 pts, 12 reb), and Alex Caruso (4-6 3s)
“Just confidence-wise, as a group, it’s good to get the Playoff runs started off that way,” Shai said after Game 4… “You never know what can happen.”
What happened next, in Round 2, was a concerted defensive effort by the No. 4 Lakers on SGA. After netting 135 total points on 55.1 FG% against Phoenix, L.A. held Shai to 98 points in four games on 47.1 FG%
In his place, OKC got lead scoring efforts from Holmgren (20.0 ppg) and Mitchell (22.5 ppg), with Ajay logging his two highest-scoring Playoff games in Games 3 (24 pts) and 4 (28 pts). Jared McCain (11.5 ppg, 12-19 3s) also broke through
Taking the first three games, OKC faced its first 4th-quarter deficit of these Playoffs in Game 4, as late as the final minute. But Holmgren slammed home the go-ahead dunk with 33 ticks left, to put away LeBron’s (24 pts) Lakers
Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images
“Hats off to my teammates,” Shai said. “Obviously, their goal was to make my teammates beat them in the first three games, and my teammates did exactly that…”
“In the Playoffs, no two games are the same,” he continued. “Especially when you change opponents. The challenges are all coming up.”
The Thunder’s greatest challenge this year returned in the form of the No. 2 Spurs, who took Game 1 of the West Finals in OKC. The champs responded to take Games 2 and 3
SGA rallied from Game 1 (7-23 FG) for 30 and 26-point outings in the two straight wins. OKC went back to Hartenstein (10 pts, 13 reb) in Game 2 vs. Wemby, and the Thunder bench scored 76 points in Game 3, headlined by 24 from McCain
Game 5 put the champs within a win of a Finals return after they took the lead for good as the 1st quarter ended. 32 from Shai, 22 from Caruso and 20 from McCain in his first-career Playoff start helped put the Spurs’ season on the line
But after San Antonio sent the series to a final, deciding game, Caruso said the defending champs still control their own fate.
“They make it challenging but, for the most part, Game 7’s got to be about us… making sure we’re doing the stuff we need to do at a high level.”
3. HOW THE NO. 2 SPURS GOT TO GAME 7
Ronald Cortes/NBAE via Getty Images
Seven players making their NBA Playoff debuts.
Multiple games without their MVP finalist Victor Wembanyama and All-Star floor general De’Aaron Fox.
It’s been an up-and-down first venture into the postseason for this young Spurs core. Here’s how the West’s No. 2 seed has learned and applied in real-time to come within a game of the NBA Finals.
“The atmosphere was different,” noted Victor Wembanyama in his first Playoff action, where he paced a Game 1 win over the Trail Blazers with a Spurs’ debut-record 35 points, including an NBA-record 21-point debut half
Game 2 saw Wembanyama enter concussion protocol after a fall. San Antonio lost its lead at home in the 4th, but responded in Game 3, with Wemby out. Stephon Castle (33 pts) and Dylan Harper (27 pts) provided Playoff career-highs
Wemby returned for Game 4 with San Antonio up 2-1, posting a monster line (27 pts, 11 reb, 4 stl, 7 blk) for his first road Playoff win. He then fueled the Game 5 closeout (17 pts, 14 reb, 6 blk), as his Spurs claimed their first elimination game
“We gained experience and I’m still hungry for even better matchups,” Wemby said. “Definitely a different feeling to win against somebody and think that their season’s over.”
Anthony Edwards and the No. 6 Wolves were hungry too, coming to town as San Antonio’s next matchup. Minnesota was out to return to its third consecutive West Finals.
Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images
Ant’s Surprise: Returning early from injury, Edwards’ (18 pts) 11-point 4th quarter stole the show in Game 1, despite Wemby’s (11 pts, 15 reb) historic 12-block triple-double
“Offensively, I used too much energy on things that didn’t really help our team, so that’s on me,” Wembanyama said postgame
The Spurs bounced back to hand the Wolves their largest-ever Playoff loss (133-95) in Game 2, and Wemby (39 pts, 15 reb) soared to his highest-scoring Playoff game at the time to grab the series lead in Game 3
Following his first-career ejection in Game 4, Wembanyama returned on a mission in Game 5 (27 pts, 17 reb, 5 ast, 3 blk), and Castle (32 pts, 11 reb) led the charge in Game 6, where San Antonio led by as many as 37 to eliminate Minnesota
Overcoming the physical series with the Wolves, Castle looked ahead to a West Finals matchup with a Thunder squad San Antonio went 4-1 against in the regular-season.
“We know it’s going to be tough to knock them off, but we’re pretty confident we could do it,” said Castle.
That confidence was on full display in Game 1, a double-OT thriller on OKC’s home floor, with an electric 41-point, 24-rebound performance from Wemby and a Spurs’ Playoff-record seven steals from Harper (24 pts)
Clamps: After the champs won two straight, San Antonio rallied in Game 4 behind Wemby’s complete performance (33 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast, 3 blk) and a defensive showing that held OKC to a season-low 38-point 1st half
Facing elimination after dropping Game 5, the young Spurs forced Game 7 on the strength of their 32-13 3rd-quarter takeover, where they held OKC scoreless for over 7 minutes in a 20-0 run. Wemby (28 pts, 10 reb, 3 blk) set the tone
So what will it take for San Antonio to unseat the reigning champion Thunder in Game 7?
“First thing is: listening to the experienced people, whether it’s on our team, on our staff, or outside,” Wemby said. “We got the chance to have plenty of those [people] around.”
4. SGA, OKC FACE FIRST GAME 7 SINCE 2025 FINALS CLINCHER
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
After San Antonio took Game 6, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was asked about fatigue.
“Oh I’m good, I’m ready to go. Biggest game of my career… and if I lose, my season’s over.”
Put that way, the situation sounds daunting. But for SGA, the biggest games of his career have been some of his best.
Mountain Climb: In the first of two Game 7s for the Thunder in last year’s title run, Shai (35 pts, 3 stl) outscored Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray to help put away the Nuggets in the West Semis
“Every night’s an opportunity to learn and get better, and we’re gonna do so,” Shai said at the time of his young Thunder team gaining the big-game experience they lacked, in real-time
Crash Course: That OKC squad was the 2nd-youngest team ever to win a championship, with an average age weighted by playing time of 25.36
Completing that final step took one more Game 7, OKC’s most recent before tonight. SGA (29 pts, 12 ast, 2 blk) rose up again in that deciding game of the Finals against Indy, claiming the series’ MVP honors
Almost a year later, the champs now know exactly what it takes to win in these moments.
“It’s going to take more than just Shai to beat [the Spurs], to beat any team at this point,” Alex Caruso said… “It’s just about being confident in each other and going out there and playing.”
Responding Thunder: Over the last two Playoff runs, OKC is a perfect 9-0 following a postseason loss, including Games 2 and 5 of this West Finals
Can the Thunder again avoid consecutive losses tonight in Game 7 to return to the NBA Finals?
“He felt… an obligation to set a tone for us in a variety of ways,” coach Mitch Johnson said of Wemby during these West Finals.
Tonight, the 22-year-old is set to play the biggest game of his young career, in the series’ deciding game. Fortunately for the Spurs, their tone-setter’s never shied away from big moments.
Alien Unwrapped: All eyes were on Wemby for his Christmas Day debut at MSG in 2024, where he set the Spurs’ record for most points on the Holiday with 42
Emirates NBA Cup: Wemby (22 pts, 9 reb, 21 min) returned from a calf injury to fuel the Spurs’ knockout of OKC in this season’s Semifinals, before adding 18 points in the Cup championship against the Knicks
“Wemby set the tone,” said All-Star Game MVP Anthony Edwards of first-time starter Wembanyama, who led Team World with 33 points on the day
“That’s kind of what Vic does,” Dylan Harper said in the West Finals. “He kind of steps into big moments. He’s never afraid of it. He loves that moment.”
Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images
Embracing the moment in his first-career Playoffs has set Wembanyama apart as the first player ever to total 50+ blocks and 25+ made threes in one postseason run
No Nerves: He’s also set a Spurs’ franchise record for most total points (350+) in a player’s first Playoffs
“I think he has shown in his three years – in a lot of different situations, with a lot of different circumstances – that he’s gonna attack those moments,” coach Johnson said
Names are made in the Playoffs, but Game 7s give us icons.
Who will play their way into the history books and push their team to the NBA Finals?
Spurs. Thunder.Game 7. Tonight at 8 ET on NBC & Peacock.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
May 30, 2026
Win Or Go Home: Everything to know for tonight’s Western Conference Finals Game 7 between the Spurs and Thunder
Thunder’s Path: From 8-0 to Game 7, how No. 1 OKC moved within one win of a Finals return
Spurs’ Mission: How San Antonio forged its own experience and forced the champs to Game 7
Been Here Before: Shai and OKC face first Game 7 since 2025 Finals clincher
Tone-Setter: Thriving in big moments, Wemby leads Spurs into his first career Game 7
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Game 7 Saturday…
It all comes down to this in the West. Forty-eight minutes to decide this chapter in one of the NBA’s hottest rivalries, and set up an NBA Finals matchup with the Knicks. Spurs-Thunder, Game 7, tonight (8 ET, NBC/Peacock | Tap To Watch).
Injury Report: OKC has listed both Jalen Williams (hamstring) and Ajay Mitchell (calf) out for Game 7.
Game 7 Reads: The Athletic’s Jared Weiss writes about Wemby setting the tone in Game 6 … Tim Reynolds of the AP covers the difference in the two teams heading into Game 7 … Andscape’s Marc Spears profiles Mitch Johnson, who’s earned the ‘full trust’ of the Spurs org.
1. EVERYTHING TO KNOW FOR GAME 7 IN 3 MINUTES
Morgan Givens/NBAE via Getty Images
Tonight marks the 160th Game 7 in NBA history. But few have looked quite like this one.
It’s the fifth of these 2026 Playoffs, tying the all-time mark for most in any NBA postseason.
It’s a win-or-go-home showdown between elite rivals, staged by two teams who know each other inside-and-out at this stage.
And, this isn’t even their first win-or-go-home matchup this season(!)
Tonight’s Spurs-Thunder finale (8 ET, NBC/Peacock) is adding up to be a Game 7 for the ages. Here’s everything you need to know:
Most-Familiar Foes: Tonight represents the 12th meeting between San Antonio and OKC this season, just the second time in 30 years two teams have met that many times in a single season across the regular-season and Playoffs
Win-Or-Go-Home, Again: In the short history of the NBA Cup, this is already the second time that two teams who met in a win-or-go-home Knockout Rounds game meet in a Playoff Game 7 later that year
Spurs Took Round 1: San Antonio eliminated OKC – just its second loss of the season at that point – in the Cup Semifinal on Dec. 13. It was their first of the 12 meetings, building a rivalry forged in the season’s biggest moments
West Parallels: The other two teams to wage two win-or-go-home games in the same season were the 2024-25 Rockets and Warriors, in the Cup Quarterfinals (Rockets win) and their First Round Game 7 in the Playoffs (Warriors win)
Houston and Golden State also represent the last time the West Finals went to a Game 7, with the Warriors moving on to claim their second straight NBA title in 2018 – the NBA’s last repeat champion
The reigning champs are out to rewrite that fact, with a return trip to the Finals on the line tonight, while San Antonio aims to uphold the other end of that trend: A Spurs win would guarantee an eighth different champion in the last eight NBA seasons.
Storm’s Edge: The Thunder are 4-2 in Game 7s in the OKC era, and 4-0 at home, where they’ll host tonight. Home teams are 117-42 all-time in Game 7s. The visiting Spurs are 4-7 all-time, and 1-5 on the road
“Anything can happen in a Game 7,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said Thursday… “It being in your building is nice – it’s going to be nice having our fans behind us – but it doesn’t really mean anything. You have to… be the better basketball team.”
Pressure Tested: OKC last played a Game 7 in last year’s Finals, topping Indiana to win it all. Chet Holmgren set a Finals Game 7 record with 5 blocks, while Shai (29 pts, 12 ast) claimed series MVP
Still Shai: This will be the fourth Game 7 of Gilgeous-Alexander’s career (2-1), where the West’s 2026 postseason scoring leader (27.1 ppg) averages 27.7 ppg
Trophy Tussle: This is the second time ever that the season’s Kia MVP and the Kia Defensive Player of the Year will face off in a Game 7. Shai and Wemby are also just the third pair of MVP finalists to meet in a Game 7 in 40 years
Two Titans: This is the sixth Conference Finals Game 7 between the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds since 1983, and the first Game 7 in that same span featuring the teams with the two best records from that regular season
“I think a lot of fans are going to be happy,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said, looking ahead. “They say it’s the best line in sports, I believe.”
Game 7, tonight.
2. HOW THE NO. 1 THUNDER GOT TO GAME 7
Eight wins, zero losses.
The 2025 NBA Champion Thunder started their title defense undefeated through two rounds, before running into their fast-charging rival Spurs in the West Finals.
Six games of pure cinema later, and OKC needs one decisive win to return to the championship round. Here’s how the Thunder got to Game 7.
The West’s top seed followed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s lead in its First Round series against Phoenix, as the MVP built up from 25 points in the Game 1 win, to 37 with 9 assists in Game 2, to a Playoff career-high 42 in Game 3
Next-Man Experts: The return of Jalen Wiliams’ hamstring issues in Game 2 forced the Thunder to utilize the rotation depth they strengthened through injuries in the regular-season. Ajay Mitchell (15 pts) started Game 3’s win
Storm Warning: Game 4’s series-clincher showcased Thunder themes still paying off two rounds later, with strong play from SGA (31 pts), Chet Holmgren (24 pts, 56.3 FG%), Mitchell (22 pts), Isaiah Hartenstein (18 pts, 12 reb), and Alex Caruso (4-6 3s)
“Just confidence-wise, as a group, it’s good to get the Playoff runs started off that way,” Shai said after Game 4… “You never know what can happen.”
What happened next, in Round 2, was a concerted defensive effort by the No. 4 Lakers on SGA. After netting 135 total points on 55.1 FG% against Phoenix, L.A. held Shai to 98 points in four games on 47.1 FG%
In his place, OKC got lead scoring efforts from Holmgren (20.0 ppg) and Mitchell (22.5 ppg), with Ajay logging his two highest-scoring Playoff games in Games 3 (24 pts) and 4 (28 pts). Jared McCain (11.5 ppg, 12-19 3s) also broke through
Taking the first three games, OKC faced its first 4th-quarter deficit of these Playoffs in Game 4, as late as the final minute. But Holmgren slammed home the go-ahead dunk with 33 ticks left, to put away LeBron’s (24 pts) Lakers
Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images
“Hats off to my teammates,” Shai said. “Obviously, their goal was to make my teammates beat them in the first three games, and my teammates did exactly that…”
“In the Playoffs, no two games are the same,” he continued. “Especially when you change opponents. The challenges are all coming up.”
The Thunder’s greatest challenge this year returned in the form of the No. 2 Spurs, who took Game 1 of the West Finals in OKC. The champs responded to take Games 2 and 3
SGA rallied from Game 1 (7-23 FG) for 30 and 26-point outings in the two straight wins. OKC went back to Hartenstein (10 pts, 13 reb) in Game 2 vs. Wemby, and the Thunder bench scored 76 points in Game 3, headlined by 24 from McCain
Game 5 put the champs within a win of a Finals return after they took the lead for good as the 1st quarter ended. 32 from Shai, 22 from Caruso and 20 from McCain in his first-career Playoff start helped put the Spurs’ season on the line
But after San Antonio sent the series to a final, deciding game, Caruso said the defending champs still control their own fate.
“They make it challenging but, for the most part, Game 7’s got to be about us… making sure we’re doing the stuff we need to do at a high level.”
3. HOW THE NO. 2 SPURS GOT TO GAME 7
Ronald Cortes/NBAE via Getty Images
Seven players making their NBA Playoff debuts.
Multiple games without their MVP finalist Victor Wembanyama and All-Star floor general De’Aaron Fox.
It’s been an up-and-down first venture into the postseason for this young Spurs core. Here’s how the West’s No. 2 seed has learned and applied in real-time to come within a game of the NBA Finals.
“The atmosphere was different,” noted Victor Wembanyama in his first Playoff action, where he paced a Game 1 win over the Trail Blazers with a Spurs’ debut-record 35 points, including an NBA-record 21-point debut half
Game 2 saw Wembanyama enter concussion protocol after a fall. San Antonio lost its lead at home in the 4th, but responded in Game 3, with Wemby out. Stephon Castle (33 pts) and Dylan Harper (27 pts) provided Playoff career-highs
Wemby returned for Game 4 with San Antonio up 2-1, posting a monster line (27 pts, 11 reb, 4 stl, 7 blk) for his first road Playoff win. He then fueled the Game 5 closeout (17 pts, 14 reb, 6 blk), as his Spurs claimed their first elimination game
“We gained experience and I’m still hungry for even better matchups,” Wemby said. “Definitely a different feeling to win against somebody and think that their season’s over.”
Anthony Edwards and the No. 6 Wolves were hungry too, coming to town as San Antonio’s next matchup. Minnesota was out to return to its third consecutive West Finals.
Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images
Ant’s Surprise: Returning early from injury, Edwards’ (18 pts) 11-point 4th quarter stole the show in Game 1, despite Wemby’s (11 pts, 15 reb) historic 12-block triple-double
“Offensively, I used too much energy on things that didn’t really help our team, so that’s on me,” Wembanyama said postgame
The Spurs bounced back to hand the Wolves their largest-ever Playoff loss (133-95) in Game 2, and Wemby (39 pts, 15 reb) soared to his highest-scoring Playoff game at the time to grab the series lead in Game 3
Following his first-career ejection in Game 4, Wembanyama returned on a mission in Game 5 (27 pts, 17 reb, 5 ast, 3 blk), and Castle (32 pts, 11 reb) led the charge in Game 6, where San Antonio led by as many as 37 to eliminate Minnesota
Overcoming the physical series with the Wolves, Castle looked ahead to a West Finals matchup with a Thunder squad San Antonio went 4-1 against in the regular-season.
“We know it’s going to be tough to knock them off, but we’re pretty confident we could do it,” said Castle.
That confidence was on full display in Game 1, a double-OT thriller on OKC’s home floor, with an electric 41-point, 24-rebound performance from Wemby and a Spurs’ Playoff-record seven steals from Harper (24 pts)
Clamps: After the champs won two straight, San Antonio rallied in Game 4 behind Wemby’s complete performance (33 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast, 3 blk) and a defensive showing that held OKC to a season-low 38-point 1st half
Facing elimination after dropping Game 5, the young Spurs forced Game 7 on the strength of their 32-13 3rd-quarter takeover, where they held OKC scoreless for over 7 minutes in a 20-0 run. Wemby (28 pts, 10 reb, 3 blk) set the tone
So what will it take for San Antonio to unseat the reigning champion Thunder in Game 7?
“First thing is: listening to the experienced people, whether it’s on our team, on our staff, or outside,” Wemby said. “We got the chance to have plenty of those [people] around.”
4. SGA, OKC FACE FIRST GAME 7 SINCE 2025 FINALS CLINCHER
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
After San Antonio took Game 6, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was asked about fatigue.
“Oh I’m good, I’m ready to go. Biggest game of my career… and if I lose, my season’s over.”
Put that way, the situation sounds daunting. But for SGA, the biggest games of his career have been some of his best.
Mountain Climb: In the first of two Game 7s for the Thunder in last year’s title run, Shai (35 pts, 3 stl) outscored Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray to help put away the Nuggets in the West Semis
“Every night’s an opportunity to learn and get better, and we’re gonna do so,” Shai said at the time of his young Thunder team gaining the big-game experience they lacked, in real-time
Crash Course: That OKC squad was the 2nd-youngest team ever to win a championship, with an average age weighted by playing time of 25.36
Completing that final step took one more Game 7, OKC’s most recent before tonight. SGA (29 pts, 12 ast, 2 blk) rose up again in that deciding game of the Finals against Indy, claiming the series’ MVP honors
Almost a year later, the champs now know exactly what it takes to win in these moments.
“It’s going to take more than just Shai to beat [the Spurs], to beat any team at this point,” Alex Caruso said… “It’s just about being confident in each other and going out there and playing.”
Responding Thunder: Over the last two Playoff runs, OKC is a perfect 9-0 following a postseason loss, including Games 2 and 5 of this West Finals
Can the Thunder again avoid consecutive losses tonight in Game 7 to return to the NBA Finals?
“He felt… an obligation to set a tone for us in a variety of ways,” coach Mitch Johnson said of Wemby during these West Finals.
Tonight, the 22-year-old is set to play the biggest game of his young career, in the series’ deciding game. Fortunately for the Spurs, their tone-setter’s never shied away from big moments.
Alien Unwrapped: All eyes were on Wemby for his Christmas Day debut at MSG in 2024, where he set the Spurs’ record for most points on the Holiday with 42
Emirates NBA Cup: Wemby (22 pts, 9 reb, 21 min) returned from a calf injury to fuel the Spurs’ knockout of OKC in this season’s Semifinals, before adding 18 points in the Cup championship against the Knicks
“Wemby set the tone,” said All-Star Game MVP Anthony Edwards of first-time starter Wembanyama, who led Team World with 33 points on the day
“That’s kind of what Vic does,” Dylan Harper said in the West Finals. “He kind of steps into big moments. He’s never afraid of it. He loves that moment.”
Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images
Embracing the moment in his first-career Playoffs has set Wembanyama apart as the first player ever to total 50+ blocks and 25+ made threes in one postseason run
No Nerves: He’s also set a Spurs’ franchise record for most total points (350+) in a player’s first Playoffs
“I think he has shown in his three years – in a lot of different situations, with a lot of different circumstances – that he’s gonna attack those moments,” coach Johnson said
Names are made in the Playoffs, but Game 7s give us icons.
Who will play their way into the history books and push their team to the NBA Finals?
Spurs. Thunder.Game 7. Tonight at 8 ET on NBC & Peacock.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
May 30, 2026
Win Or Go Home: Everything to know for tonight’s Western Conference Finals Game 7 between the Spurs and Thunder
Thunder’s Path: From 8-0 to Game 7, how No. 1 OKC moved within one win of a Finals return
Spurs’ Mission: How San Antonio forged its own experience and forced the champs to Game 7
Been Here Before: Shai and OKC face first Game 7 since 2025 Finals clincher
Tone-Setter: Thriving in big moments, Wemby leads Spurs into his first career Game 7
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Game 7 Saturday…
It all comes down to this in the West. Forty-eight minutes to decide this chapter in one of the NBA’s hottest rivalries, and set up an NBA Finals matchup with the Knicks. Spurs-Thunder, Game 7, tonight (8 ET, NBC/Peacock | Tap To Watch).
Injury Report: OKC has listed both Jalen Williams (hamstring) and Ajay Mitchell (calf) out for Game 7.
Game 7 Reads: The Athletic’s Jared Weiss writes about Wemby setting the tone in Game 6 … Tim Reynolds of the AP covers the difference in the two teams heading into Game 7 … Andscape’s Marc Spears profiles Mitch Johnson, who’s earned the ‘full trust’ of the Spurs org.
1. EVERYTHING TO KNOW FOR GAME 7 IN 3 MINUTES
Morgan Givens/NBAE via Getty Images
Tonight marks the 160th Game 7 in NBA history. But few have looked quite like this one.
It’s the fifth of these 2026 Playoffs, tying the all-time mark for most in any NBA postseason.
It’s a win-or-go-home showdown between elite rivals, staged by two teams who know each other inside-and-out at this stage.
And, this isn’t even their first win-or-go-home matchup this season(!)
Tonight’s Spurs-Thunder finale (8 ET, NBC/Peacock) is adding up to be a Game 7 for the ages. Here’s everything you need to know:
Most-Familiar Foes: Tonight represents the 12th meeting between San Antonio and OKC this season, just the second time in 30 years two teams have met that many times in a single season across the regular-season and Playoffs
Win-Or-Go-Home, Again: In the short history of the NBA Cup, this is already the second time that two teams who met in a win-or-go-home Knockout Rounds game meet in a Playoff Game 7 later that year
Spurs Took Round 1: San Antonio eliminated OKC – just its second loss of the season at that point – in the Cup Semifinal on Dec. 13. It was their first of the 12 meetings, building a rivalry forged in the season’s biggest moments
West Parallels: The other two teams to wage two win-or-go-home games in the same season were the 2024-25 Rockets and Warriors, in the Cup Quarterfinals (Rockets win) and their First Round Game 7 in the Playoffs (Warriors win)
Houston and Golden State also represent the last time the West Finals went to a Game 7, with the Warriors moving on to claim their second straight NBA title in 2018 – the NBA’s last repeat champion
The reigning champs are out to rewrite that fact, with a return trip to the Finals on the line tonight, while San Antonio aims to uphold the other end of that trend: A Spurs win would guarantee an eighth different champion in the last eight NBA seasons.
Storm’s Edge: The Thunder are 4-2 in Game 7s in the OKC era, and 4-0 at home, where they’ll host tonight. Home teams are 117-42 all-time in Game 7s. The visiting Spurs are 4-7 all-time, and 1-5 on the road
“Anything can happen in a Game 7,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said Thursday… “It being in your building is nice – it’s going to be nice having our fans behind us – but it doesn’t really mean anything. You have to… be the better basketball team.”
Pressure Tested: OKC last played a Game 7 in last year’s Finals, topping Indiana to win it all. Chet Holmgren set a Finals Game 7 record with 5 blocks, while Shai (29 pts, 12 ast) claimed series MVP
Still Shai: This will be the fourth Game 7 of Gilgeous-Alexander’s career (2-1), where the West’s 2026 postseason scoring leader (27.1 ppg) averages 27.7 ppg
Trophy Tussle: This is the second time ever that the season’s Kia MVP and the Kia Defensive Player of the Year will face off in a Game 7. Shai and Wemby are also just the third pair of MVP finalists to meet in a Game 7 in 40 years
Two Titans: This is the sixth Conference Finals Game 7 between the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds since 1983, and the first Game 7 in that same span featuring the teams with the two best records from that regular season
“I think a lot of fans are going to be happy,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said, looking ahead. “They say it’s the best line in sports, I believe.”
Game 7, tonight.
2. HOW THE NO. 1 THUNDER GOT TO GAME 7
Eight wins, zero losses.
The 2025 NBA Champion Thunder started their title defense undefeated through two rounds, before running into their fast-charging rival Spurs in the West Finals.
Six games of pure cinema later, and OKC needs one decisive win to return to the championship round. Here’s how the Thunder got to Game 7.
The West’s top seed followed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s lead in its First Round series against Phoenix, as the MVP built up from 25 points in the Game 1 win, to 37 with 9 assists in Game 2, to a Playoff career-high 42 in Game 3
Next-Man Experts: The return of Jalen Wiliams’ hamstring issues in Game 2 forced the Thunder to utilize the rotation depth they strengthened through injuries in the regular-season. Ajay Mitchell (15 pts) started Game 3’s win
Storm Warning: Game 4’s series-clincher showcased Thunder themes still paying off two rounds later, with strong play from SGA (31 pts), Chet Holmgren (24 pts, 56.3 FG%), Mitchell (22 pts), Isaiah Hartenstein (18 pts, 12 reb), and Alex Caruso (4-6 3s)
“Just confidence-wise, as a group, it’s good to get the Playoff runs started off that way,” Shai said after Game 4… “You never know what can happen.”
What happened next, in Round 2, was a concerted defensive effort by the No. 4 Lakers on SGA. After netting 135 total points on 55.1 FG% against Phoenix, L.A. held Shai to 98 points in four games on 47.1 FG%
In his place, OKC got lead scoring efforts from Holmgren (20.0 ppg) and Mitchell (22.5 ppg), with Ajay logging his two highest-scoring Playoff games in Games 3 (24 pts) and 4 (28 pts). Jared McCain (11.5 ppg, 12-19 3s) also broke through
Taking the first three games, OKC faced its first 4th-quarter deficit of these Playoffs in Game 4, as late as the final minute. But Holmgren slammed home the go-ahead dunk with 33 ticks left, to put away LeBron’s (24 pts) Lakers
Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images
“Hats off to my teammates,” Shai said. “Obviously, their goal was to make my teammates beat them in the first three games, and my teammates did exactly that…”
“In the Playoffs, no two games are the same,” he continued. “Especially when you change opponents. The challenges are all coming up.”
The Thunder’s greatest challenge this year returned in the form of the No. 2 Spurs, who took Game 1 of the West Finals in OKC. The champs responded to take Games 2 and 3
SGA rallied from Game 1 (7-23 FG) for 30 and 26-point outings in the two straight wins. OKC went back to Hartenstein (10 pts, 13 reb) in Game 2 vs. Wemby, and the Thunder bench scored 76 points in Game 3, headlined by 24 from McCain
Game 5 put the champs within a win of a Finals return after they took the lead for good as the 1st quarter ended. 32 from Shai, 22 from Caruso and 20 from McCain in his first-career Playoff start helped put the Spurs’ season on the line
But after San Antonio sent the series to a final, deciding game, Caruso said the defending champs still control their own fate.
“They make it challenging but, for the most part, Game 7’s got to be about us… making sure we’re doing the stuff we need to do at a high level.”
3. HOW THE NO. 2 SPURS GOT TO GAME 7
Ronald Cortes/NBAE via Getty Images
Seven players making their NBA Playoff debuts.
Multiple games without their MVP finalist Victor Wembanyama and All-Star floor general De’Aaron Fox.
It’s been an up-and-down first venture into the postseason for this young Spurs core. Here’s how the West’s No. 2 seed has learned and applied in real-time to come within a game of the NBA Finals.
“The atmosphere was different,” noted Victor Wembanyama in his first Playoff action, where he paced a Game 1 win over the Trail Blazers with a Spurs’ debut-record 35 points, including an NBA-record 21-point debut half
Game 2 saw Wembanyama enter concussion protocol after a fall. San Antonio lost its lead at home in the 4th, but responded in Game 3, with Wemby out. Stephon Castle (33 pts) and Dylan Harper (27 pts) provided Playoff career-highs
Wemby returned for Game 4 with San Antonio up 2-1, posting a monster line (27 pts, 11 reb, 4 stl, 7 blk) for his first road Playoff win. He then fueled the Game 5 closeout (17 pts, 14 reb, 6 blk), as his Spurs claimed their first elimination game
“We gained experience and I’m still hungry for even better matchups,” Wemby said. “Definitely a different feeling to win against somebody and think that their season’s over.”
Anthony Edwards and the No. 6 Wolves were hungry too, coming to town as San Antonio’s next matchup. Minnesota was out to return to its third consecutive West Finals.
Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images
Ant’s Surprise: Returning early from injury, Edwards’ (18 pts) 11-point 4th quarter stole the show in Game 1, despite Wemby’s (11 pts, 15 reb) historic 12-block triple-double
“Offensively, I used too much energy on things that didn’t really help our team, so that’s on me,” Wembanyama said postgame
The Spurs bounced back to hand the Wolves their largest-ever Playoff loss (133-95) in Game 2, and Wemby (39 pts, 15 reb) soared to his highest-scoring Playoff game at the time to grab the series lead in Game 3
Following his first-career ejection in Game 4, Wembanyama returned on a mission in Game 5 (27 pts, 17 reb, 5 ast, 3 blk), and Castle (32 pts, 11 reb) led the charge in Game 6, where San Antonio led by as many as 37 to eliminate Minnesota
Overcoming the physical series with the Wolves, Castle looked ahead to a West Finals matchup with a Thunder squad San Antonio went 4-1 against in the regular-season.
“We know it’s going to be tough to knock them off, but we’re pretty confident we could do it,” said Castle.
That confidence was on full display in Game 1, a double-OT thriller on OKC’s home floor, with an electric 41-point, 24-rebound performance from Wemby and a Spurs’ Playoff-record seven steals from Harper (24 pts)
Clamps: After the champs won two straight, San Antonio rallied in Game 4 behind Wemby’s complete performance (33 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast, 3 blk) and a defensive showing that held OKC to a season-low 38-point 1st half
Facing elimination after dropping Game 5, the young Spurs forced Game 7 on the strength of their 32-13 3rd-quarter takeover, where they held OKC scoreless for over 7 minutes in a 20-0 run. Wemby (28 pts, 10 reb, 3 blk) set the tone
So what will it take for San Antonio to unseat the reigning champion Thunder in Game 7?
“First thing is: listening to the experienced people, whether it’s on our team, on our staff, or outside,” Wemby said. “We got the chance to have plenty of those [people] around.”
4. SGA, OKC FACE FIRST GAME 7 SINCE 2025 FINALS CLINCHER
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
After San Antonio took Game 6, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was asked about fatigue.
“Oh I’m good, I’m ready to go. Biggest game of my career… and if I lose, my season’s over.”
Put that way, the situation sounds daunting. But for SGA, the biggest games of his career have been some of his best.
Mountain Climb: In the first of two Game 7s for the Thunder in last year’s title run, Shai (35 pts, 3 stl) outscored Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray to help put away the Nuggets in the West Semis
“Every night’s an opportunity to learn and get better, and we’re gonna do so,” Shai said at the time of his young Thunder team gaining the big-game experience they lacked, in real-time
Crash Course: That OKC squad was the 2nd-youngest team ever to win a championship, with an average age weighted by playing time of 25.36
Completing that final step took one more Game 7, OKC’s most recent before tonight. SGA (29 pts, 12 ast, 2 blk) rose up again in that deciding game of the Finals against Indy, claiming the series’ MVP honors
Almost a year later, the champs now know exactly what it takes to win in these moments.
“It’s going to take more than just Shai to beat [the Spurs], to beat any team at this point,” Alex Caruso said… “It’s just about being confident in each other and going out there and playing.”
Responding Thunder: Over the last two Playoff runs, OKC is a perfect 9-0 following a postseason loss, including Games 2 and 5 of this West Finals
Can the Thunder again avoid consecutive losses tonight in Game 7 to return to the NBA Finals?
“He felt… an obligation to set a tone for us in a variety of ways,” coach Mitch Johnson said of Wemby during these West Finals.
Tonight, the 22-year-old is set to play the biggest game of his young career, in the series’ deciding game. Fortunately for the Spurs, their tone-setter’s never shied away from big moments.
Alien Unwrapped: All eyes were on Wemby for his Christmas Day debut at MSG in 2024, where he set the Spurs’ record for most points on the Holiday with 42
Emirates NBA Cup: Wemby (22 pts, 9 reb, 21 min) returned from a calf injury to fuel the Spurs’ knockout of OKC in this season’s Semifinals, before adding 18 points in the Cup championship against the Knicks
“Wemby set the tone,” said All-Star Game MVP Anthony Edwards of first-time starter Wembanyama, who led Team World with 33 points on the day
“That’s kind of what Vic does,” Dylan Harper said in the West Finals. “He kind of steps into big moments. He’s never afraid of it. He loves that moment.”
Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images
Embracing the moment in his first-career Playoffs has set Wembanyama apart as the first player ever to total 50+ blocks and 25+ made threes in one postseason run
No Nerves: He’s also set a Spurs’ franchise record for most total points (350+) in a player’s first Playoffs
“I think he has shown in his three years – in a lot of different situations, with a lot of different circumstances – that he’s gonna attack those moments,” coach Johnson said
Victor Wembanyama shows off the Magic Johnson Trophy as the San Antonio Spurs advance to the NBA Finals.
Victor Wembanyama (22 pts, 7 reb) led seven scorers in double figures as the San Antonio Spurs held off repeated charges by the Oklahoma City Thunder, sending the defending champions home by winning 111-103.
“They don’t even know how much I love them,” Wembanyama said of his teammates. “We want four more.”
Wemby received the Magic Johnson trophy as the Western Conference Finals MVP.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (35 pts) was valiant in defeat for Oklahoma City.
What we know after Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals:
The Spurs are headed to the NBA Finals to take on the New York Knicks, running back this year’s Emirates NBA Cup final.
“We have a good team — great team, if you will,” said Julian Champagnie (17 pts, 5 3PM). “We love this. We love this.”
Oklahoma City just couldn’t take control in the second half. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (35 points) was a star, with Cason Wallace (17 pts) and Jaylin Williams (11 pts, 10 reb) having moments, but they were unable to match the Spurs’ group effort.
The Spurs were 17-of-40 (42.5%) from 3-point range, while the Thunder were 12-of-35 (34.3%).
MAY 30 / 10:47 ET
‘Thunder running out of time’
OKC got a steal, but can’t find a clean look on the other end. Kenrich Williams missed from deep; Alex Caruso missed a leaning 3-pointer; Cason Wallace finally missed.
It’s 1999 all over again; Spurs-Knicks in the NBA Finals.
“A new era has dawned! It’s Wemby’s west! The Spurs are going to the NBA Finals,” said Mike Tirico.
“This is what you want to see — a young team growing up on the biggest stage,” said Reggie Miller.
MAY 30 / 10:42 ET
And then, Cason Wallace
Cason Wallace (15 pts) has four 3-pointers in the quarter, keeping OKC alive.
Chet Holmgren (4 pts, 4 reb) still hasn’t taken a shot in the second half, but did reject Dylan Harper’s attempt at a game-capping poster slam.
107-101 Spurs with 1:23 to go.
MAY 30 / 10:38 ET
Shai responds with a Kobe special
SGA (35 pts) gave the Thunder a jolt of life with a fadeaway midrange jumper over Victor Wembanyama and Julian Champagnie. He had an iota of space to get that off, and put some extra arc on it to get it over The Alien.
104-95 with 4:05 to go.
MAY 30 / 10:36 ET
Champs on the ropes
Mark Daigneault just took his last timeout with 4:26 to go, as a Dylan Harper putback lifts the Spurs to a 104-93 lead.
Jared McCain (12 pts on 5-of-12 shooting) just missed from the corner as Victor Wembanyama flew towards him.
The Thunder are running out of time and options.
MAY 30 / 10:34 ET
Luke Kornet with the chase down block
With Victor Wembanyama on the bench, Luke Kornet just refused to let Isaiah Hartenstein slam it in transition, chasing him down for a swat.
Isaiah Hartenstein (7 pts, 5 reb) throws down an and-one slam on the pick-and-roll, drawing the fifth foul on Victor Wembanyama.
97-89 with 7:12 to go in the contest.
MAY 30 / 10:23 ET
The shotmaking is special
Victor Wembanyama (22 pts) just danced on Jaylin Williams, drilling a stepback 3-pointer from the left wing, followed by Keldon Johnson (11 pts) crashing to the rim in transition for a layup.
Cason Wallace (9 pts, 3 3PM) drilled a 3-pointer during the stretch beforehand, continuing his hot shooting. But the Thunder need more offense from somewhere.
It’s 97-86 Spurs with 8:00 to go in the game.
“The champs are on the ropes in the fourth quarter of Game 7,” said Mike Tirico.
MAY 30 / 10:20 ET
Every shot is big
89-83 with 9:44 to go in the fourth quarter, as former Olympic gold medalist Keldon Johnson (9 pts) hits two 3-pointers to hold off another Thunder charge.
Alex Caruso just tried to punch it on Victor Wembanyama, but was sent crashing to the floor.
It’s time to ante up; the Western Conference Finals are on the line.
MAY 30 / 10:13 ET
Spurs lead 80-77 after three
It’s been an epic so far in Oklahoma City. The Spurs have led basically all night, with the Thunder bobbing into the lead as they seek to rally.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31 pts on 10-of-17 shooting) has provided the offense for OKC, while the Spurs have had a number of players step up, including Julian Champagnie (17 pts, 5 3PM) and Victor Wembanyama (16 pts, 7 reb, 2 3PM).
Neither team is shooting great — Spurs are at 41.4%, the Thunder at 43.5% — but the intensity is palpable.
Every basket matters right now, as the game teeters and the fans roar in the Paycom Center.
MAY 30 / 10:09 ET
Give it up for J-Will
Jaylin Williams (11 pts, 9 reb) just hit a rainbow 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to cut the Spurs lead to 79-77 with 1:08 to go in the quarter.
Williams was effective against the Spurs all year, averaging 14.8 during the regular season and NBA Cup, and has provided timely offense on multiple occasions tonight.
The Thunder will need more from Chet Holmgren (4 pts, 4 reb) at some point. He hasn’t taken a shot in the second half.
MAY 30 / 10:03 ET
SGA keeping the Thunder alive
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31 pts) has more than twice as many points as the rest of the Thunder starting lineup (14). He’s doing what he can.
Spurs 77-72 with 2:46 to go.
MAY 30 / 9:55 ET
A 16-2 Spurs run
Victor Wembanyama (15 pts, 6 reb) just knocked down his second 3-pointer, staring down Jaylin Williams in transition and sinking it from the right side of the floor.
But Stephon Castle (12 pts, 6 ast) just picked up his fourth foul, sending him to the bench and Alex Caruso to the line.
The Thunder are still searching with Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell out.
Jared McCain is their best offensive option, but the least defensively sound. Cason Wallace is always solid, but doesn’t raise the ceiling that much. Caruso is grinding, but feeling for it some tonight. Kenrich Williams is game, but limited. We’ll see who Mark Daigneault goes with down the stretch.
76-65 Spurs with 4:45 to go in the third quarter.
MAY 30 / 9:49 ET
A great Game 7 in full flow
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (26 pts on 10-of-14 shooting) has it going in the third quarter, but the Spurs are still surging, leading 73-65 with 6:12 to go in the third quarter.
“When you’re in a rhythm like SGA is, the tough shots become easy,” said Jamal Crawford. “He has no doubt his shots are going to go right now.”
On the other side, Julian Champagnie (17 pts, 5 3PM) is suddenly scorching hot, becoming an x-factor as the Spurs try to hold off the defending champs.
If you’re not tuned in to NBC or Peacock, and can find a way to do so, please get on that. This is world-class basketball.
MAY 30 / 9:44 ET
Champagnie raining
Julian Champagnie (9 pts, 3-of-4 shooting) just popped open for a 3-pointer to tie the contest at 63 with 8:03 to go in the third, halting an 8-0 Thunder run.
A horns set featuring a rolling Victor Wembanyama sucked in Jared McCain, leaving Champagnie open for Stephon Castle to find.
On the next possession, Champagnie drew a three-shot foul, as Wemby caught it in the post, drawing the attention of Lu Dort, then kicked it to him.
MAY 30 / 9:39 ET
Caruso for the lead
61-60 Thunder with 8:54 to go in the third, as Alex Caruso (5 pts) drills a 3-pointer to give his team the advantage.
Caruso may be 2-of-10 from the field, but the Texas A&M product and two-time NBA champion is always available for the big shot.
Game 7s can be decided by role players. That was such a moment.
MAY 30 / 9:38 ET
Wemby opens with force
Victor Wembanyama (12 pts) starts the third quarter with a slam, launching from outside the paint to dunk on multiple defenders, and a rejection of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
But the Thunder are right there, cutting the lead to 60-58 with 9:17 to go in the third.
MAY 30 / 9:19 ET
Spurs lead 56-53 at the break
San Antonio closes the second quarter with seven straight points, responding to the Thunder surge and keeping control heading into the half.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (19 pts, 5 ast) was countered by De’Aaron Fox (10 pts, game-high +10) and Victor Wembanyama (10 pts, 3 reb) in the final moments of the quarter, as the stars shine in Oklahoma City.
“Shai was being Shai,” said Fox. “Keep playing man. You have bad games, bad series. It’s basketball — it’s going to happen.”
Wembanyama looked uncomfortable at times in the second quarter, catching and holding while he checked out the Thunder defense. The Spurs will look to get him more shots (8 FGA so far) in the second half.
The Spurs are 7-of-17 (41.2%) from 3-point range so far, but the Thunder have taken three more shots on the contest.
MAY 30 / 9:17 ET
‘Right now, SGA is Neo in the Matrix’
Thunder lead 53-49 with 1:17 to go, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (19 pts on 8-of-11 shooting, 5 ast) finds Jaylin Williams (8 pts) for an open free throw line jumper.
LU DORT FOR THE TIE. JAYLIN WILLIAMS FOR THE LEAD.
We’re tied at 49 with 1:50 to go in the half after a Lu Dort 3-pointer, as these teams vie back and forth in front of a raucous crowd.
The Thunder haven’t led since Game 5. But they’ve rallied, attacking decisively as the Spurs offense has cooled.
MAY 30 / 9:10 ET
Thunder turning up the tempo
OKC’s started making a concerted effort to push the ball in transition, giving the Spurs less time to load up against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (17 pts).
Shai’s responded with nine of the last 11 points for the Thunder, giving voice to the Oklahoma City crowd.
Spurs 44-36 with 6:45 to go in the second quarter.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (11 pts) and Jared McCain (10 pts) have 21 of Oklahoma City’s tally. Who will step up to join them?
Isaiah Hartenstein cameoed as a featured offensive option in the first quarter, to limited effect, while Alex Caruso (2 pts, 15.4 ppg in the series) is 1-of-6 from the field so far.
Mark Daigneault has not gone to Isaiah Joe or Aaron Wiggins yet, who could add some punch, instead sticking with two 3&D wings when McCain’s not on the floor.
MAY 30 / 8:54 ET
Wembanyama rises up from deep
Victor Wembanyama (8 pts) just smoothly stepped into a 26-foot 3-pointer, lifting the Spurs to a 40-31 lead with 8:57 to go in the second quarter.
He shot it like wanted it. Every basket’s big here, as the Spurs look to keep the defending champions on the back foot.
MAY 30 / 8:47 ET
Spurs lead 32-25 after one
San Antonio’s forced six turnovers by OKC so far, putting pressure on the defending champions.
Jared McCain (8 pts apiece) hit a big 3-pointer to give the Thunder a boost in the waning seconds of the quarter. The Spurs’ defense has made it difficult so far.
The grind ends here. The stress and strain of a long series. The familiarity with your opponent. The stage. The moment is familiar and unfamiliar at the same time — it’s the end of a chapter; it’s one game for all the marbles.
They’re often weird games. Anything can happen. A role player can change everything — ask Cedric Maxwell.
There’s nothing else like it in sports. It’s the best two words you can hear as a basketball fan.
“This is Game 7. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” said Carmelo Anthony.
MAY 30 / 7:25 ET
The stars arrive
“Don’t come to my city, wearing all black, talking about it’s a funeral,” John Wall once said.
Both dressed in black leather… SGA and Wemby are ready for Game 7 😤
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and De’Aaron Fox will be handling the rock for the Thunder and Spurs in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals.
San Antonio:
PG De’Aaron Fox
In his last Game 7, Fox played through a broken finger for the Sacramento Kings, battling and falling to the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs. He’s used to finding his way through injury, and has been a net positive for the Spurs in this series. Can he come up with a hero’s turn tonight?
SG Stephon Castle
Castle’s held SGA to 52 points on 18-of-41 shooting (43.9%) during this series. The 21-year-old UConn product has expended a ton of energy, but will need his legs one more time to potentially put away the Kia MVP.
SF Devin Vassell
Vassell’s up to 3.3 3PM on 7.8 attempts (42.9%) in this series. His shooting is a crucial barometer for the Spurs.
PF Julian Champagnie
Champagnie has hung admirably during this series despite only shooting 38.3/26.7/71.4 from the field. If he’s hot, it could change the game.
C Victor Wembanyama
The Spurs’ superstar has a chance to advance to the NBA Finals on his plate. How will he respond? His competitiveness and fire have shown through all series.
Oklahoma City:
PG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
SGA averages 27.7 ppg in Game 7s during his career. We’ll see if he needs more than that tonight with Ajay Mitchell and Jalen Williams ailing. Despite being a brilliant scorer, SGA rarely has huge games — can he up his volume enough if the Thunder require it?
SG Jared McCain
Daigneault shifted McCain into the starting lineup in Game 6. He was erratic, if dangerous, from the field — can he pick his spots alongside the Thunder stars?
SF Luguentz Dort
Dort hasn’t been a major factor in this series, but he’s battle-tested and tough. Could be a classic role player to swing a Game 7.
PF Chet Holmgren
With J-Dub out, Chet is the second star for the defending champs. It’s a huge game for him — a statement would help make his name in this league.
C Isaiah Hartenstein
Hartenstein has been a beast at times in this series. Watch whether he’s effective — Jaylin Williams is available as a stretch option, but I-Hart is key to OKC’s physicality.
MAY 30 / 6:15 ET
The bruises add up
Which team will have enough energy left to take the series tonight?
The intensity and physicality has been off the charts in the Western Conference Finals. 👀
Tonight is the biggest game of Victor Wembanyama’s career so far.
Hakeem Olajuwon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal reached the NBA Finals in their second seasons; Tim Duncan did it in his first. It took David Robinson until his tenth.
Bill Russell did it as a rookie. Wilt Chamberlain did it in his fifth. Bill Walton did it in his fourth.
I can’t wait to watch Game 7 of the Oklahoma City Thunder vs San Antonio Spurs tonight on NBC. This game is must see TV!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 30, 2026
MAY 30 / 3:00 ET
A rivalry that’s spanned the season
Enjoy the best highlights from this epic series.
Then check out the highlights from the semifinals of the 2026 Emirates NBA Cup, where the Spurs and Thunder squared off with it all on the line.
It was both just yesterday and lifetimes ago.
MAY 30 / 2:45 ET
Saturday’s injury report
Jalen Williams (left hamstring strain), Ajay Mitchell (right soleus strain) and Thomas Sorber (right ACL surgery recovery) are out for the Thunder tonight.
Names are made in the Playoffs, but Game 7s give us icons.
Who will play their way into the history books and push their team to the NBA Finals?
Spurs. Thunder.Game 7. Tonight at 8 ET on NBC & Peacock.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
May 30, 2026
Win Or Go Home: Everything to know for tonight’s Western Conference Finals Game 7 between the Spurs and Thunder
Thunder’s Path: From 8-0 to Game 7, how No. 1 OKC moved within one win of a Finals return
Spurs’ Mission: How San Antonio forged its own experience and forced the champs to Game 7
Been Here Before: Shai and OKC face first Game 7 since 2025 Finals clincher
Tone-Setter: Thriving in big moments, Wemby leads Spurs into his first career Game 7
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Game 7 Saturday…
It all comes down to this in the West. Forty-eight minutes to decide this chapter in one of the NBA’s hottest rivalries, and set up an NBA Finals matchup with the Knicks. Spurs-Thunder, Game 7, tonight (8 ET, NBC/Peacock | Tap To Watch).
Injury Report: OKC has listed both Jalen Williams (hamstring) and Ajay Mitchell (calf) out for Game 7.
Game 7 Reads: The Athletic’s Jared Weiss writes about Wemby setting the tone in Game 6 … Tim Reynolds of the AP covers the difference in the two teams heading into Game 7 … Andscape’s Marc Spears profiles Mitch Johnson, who’s earned the ‘full trust’ of the Spurs org.
1. EVERYTHING TO KNOW FOR GAME 7 IN 3 MINUTES
Morgan Givens/NBAE via Getty Images
Tonight marks the 160th Game 7 in NBA history. But few have looked quite like this one.
It’s the fifth of these 2026 Playoffs, tying the all-time mark for most in any NBA postseason.
It’s a win-or-go-home showdown between elite rivals, staged by two teams who know each other inside-and-out at this stage.
And, this isn’t even their first win-or-go-home matchup this season(!)
Tonight’s Spurs-Thunder finale (8 ET, NBC/Peacock) is adding up to be a Game 7 for the ages. Here’s everything you need to know:
Most-Familiar Foes: Tonight represents the 12th meeting between San Antonio and OKC this season, just the second time in 30 years two teams have met that many times in a single season across the regular-season and Playoffs
Win-Or-Go-Home, Again: In the short history of the NBA Cup, this is already the second time that two teams who met in a win-or-go-home Knockout Rounds game meet in a Playoff Game 7 later that year
Spurs Took Round 1: San Antonio eliminated OKC – just its second loss of the season at that point – in the Cup Semifinal on Dec. 13. It was their first of the 12 meetings, building a rivalry forged in the season’s biggest moments
West Parallels: The other two teams to wage two win-or-go-home games in the same season were the 2024-25 Rockets and Warriors, in the Cup Quarterfinals (Rockets win) and their First Round Game 7 in the Playoffs (Warriors win)
Houston and Golden State also represent the last time the West Finals went to a Game 7, with the Warriors moving on to claim their second straight NBA title in 2018 – the NBA’s last repeat champion
The reigning champs are out to rewrite that fact, with a return trip to the Finals on the line tonight, while San Antonio aims to uphold the other end of that trend: A Spurs win would guarantee an eighth different champion in the last eight NBA seasons.
Storm’s Edge: The Thunder are 4-2 in Game 7s in the OKC era, and 4-0 at home, where they’ll host tonight. Home teams are 117-42 all-time in Game 7s. The visiting Spurs are 4-7 all-time, and 1-5 on the road
“Anything can happen in a Game 7,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said Thursday… “It being in your building is nice – it’s going to be nice having our fans behind us – but it doesn’t really mean anything. You have to… be the better basketball team.”
Pressure Tested: OKC last played a Game 7 in last year’s Finals, topping Indiana to win it all. Chet Holmgren set a Finals Game 7 record with 5 blocks, while Shai (29 pts, 12 ast) claimed series MVP
Still Shai: This will be the fourth Game 7 of Gilgeous-Alexander’s career (2-1), where the West’s 2026 postseason scoring leader (27.1 ppg) averages 27.7 ppg
Trophy Tussle: This is the second time ever that the season’s Kia MVP and the Kia Defensive Player of the Year will face off in a Game 7. Shai and Wemby are also just the third pair of MVP finalists to meet in a Game 7 in 40 years
Two Titans: This is the sixth Conference Finals Game 7 between the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds since 1983, and the first Game 7 in that same span featuring the teams with the two best records from that regular season
“I think a lot of fans are going to be happy,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said, looking ahead. “They say it’s the best line in sports, I believe.”
Game 7, tonight.
2. HOW THE NO. 1 THUNDER GOT TO GAME 7
Eight wins, zero losses.
The 2025 NBA Champion Thunder started their title defense undefeated through two rounds, before running into their fast-charging rival Spurs in the West Finals.
Six games of pure cinema later, and OKC needs one decisive win to return to the championship round. Here’s how the Thunder got to Game 7.
The West’s top seed followed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s lead in its First Round series against Phoenix, as the MVP built up from 25 points in the Game 1 win, to 37 with 9 assists in Game 2, to a Playoff career-high 42 in Game 3
Next-Man Experts: The return of Jalen Wiliams’ hamstring issues in Game 2 forced the Thunder to utilize the rotation depth they strengthened through injuries in the regular-season. Ajay Mitchell (15 pts) started Game 3’s win
Storm Warning: Game 4’s series-clincher showcased Thunder themes still paying off two rounds later, with strong play from SGA (31 pts), Chet Holmgren (24 pts, 56.3 FG%), Mitchell (22 pts), Isaiah Hartenstein (18 pts, 12 reb), and Alex Caruso (4-6 3s)
“Just confidence-wise, as a group, it’s good to get the Playoff runs started off that way,” Shai said after Game 4… “You never know what can happen.”
What happened next, in Round 2, was a concerted defensive effort by the No. 4 Lakers on SGA. After netting 135 total points on 55.1 FG% against Phoenix, L.A. held Shai to 98 points in four games on 47.1 FG%
In his place, OKC got lead scoring efforts from Holmgren (20.0 ppg) and Mitchell (22.5 ppg), with Ajay logging his two highest-scoring Playoff games in Games 3 (24 pts) and 4 (28 pts). Jared McCain (11.5 ppg, 12-19 3s) also broke through
Taking the first three games, OKC faced its first 4th-quarter deficit of these Playoffs in Game 4, as late as the final minute. But Holmgren slammed home the go-ahead dunk with 33 ticks left, to put away LeBron’s (24 pts) Lakers
Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images
“Hats off to my teammates,” Shai said. “Obviously, their goal was to make my teammates beat them in the first three games, and my teammates did exactly that…”
“In the Playoffs, no two games are the same,” he continued. “Especially when you change opponents. The challenges are all coming up.”
The Thunder’s greatest challenge this year returned in the form of the No. 2 Spurs, who took Game 1 of the West Finals in OKC. The champs responded to take Games 2 and 3
SGA rallied from Game 1 (7-23 FG) for 30 and 26-point outings in the two straight wins. OKC went back to Hartenstein (10 pts, 13 reb) in Game 2 vs. Wemby, and the Thunder bench scored 76 points in Game 3, headlined by 24 from McCain
Game 5 put the champs within a win of a Finals return after they took the lead for good as the 1st quarter ended. 32 from Shai, 22 from Caruso and 20 from McCain in his first-career Playoff start helped put the Spurs’ season on the line
But after San Antonio sent the series to a final, deciding game, Caruso said the defending champs still control their own fate.
“They make it challenging but, for the most part, Game 7’s got to be about us… making sure we’re doing the stuff we need to do at a high level.”
3. HOW THE NO. 2 SPURS GOT TO GAME 7
Ronald Cortes/NBAE via Getty Images
Seven players making their NBA Playoff debuts.
Multiple games without their MVP finalist Victor Wembanyama and All-Star floor general De’Aaron Fox.
It’s been an up-and-down first venture into the postseason for this young Spurs core. Here’s how the West’s No. 2 seed has learned and applied in real-time to come within a game of the NBA Finals.
“The atmosphere was different,” noted Victor Wembanyama in his first Playoff action, where he paced a Game 1 win over the Trail Blazers with a Spurs’ debut-record 35 points, including an NBA-record 21-point debut half
Game 2 saw Wembanyama enter concussion protocol after a fall. San Antonio lost its lead at home in the 4th, but responded in Game 3, with Wemby out. Stephon Castle (33 pts) and Dylan Harper (27 pts) provided Playoff career-highs
Wemby returned for Game 4 with San Antonio up 2-1, posting a monster line (27 pts, 11 reb, 4 stl, 7 blk) for his first road Playoff win. He then fueled the Game 5 closeout (17 pts, 14 reb, 6 blk), as his Spurs claimed their first elimination game
“We gained experience and I’m still hungry for even better matchups,” Wemby said. “Definitely a different feeling to win against somebody and think that their season’s over.”
Anthony Edwards and the No. 6 Wolves were hungry too, coming to town as San Antonio’s next matchup. Minnesota was out to return to its third consecutive West Finals.
Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images
Ant’s Surprise: Returning early from injury, Edwards’ (18 pts) 11-point 4th quarter stole the show in Game 1, despite Wemby’s (11 pts, 15 reb) historic 12-block triple-double
“Offensively, I used too much energy on things that didn’t really help our team, so that’s on me,” Wembanyama said postgame
The Spurs bounced back to hand the Wolves their largest-ever Playoff loss (133-95) in Game 2, and Wemby (39 pts, 15 reb) soared to his highest-scoring Playoff game at the time to grab the series lead in Game 3
Following his first-career ejection in Game 4, Wembanyama returned on a mission in Game 5 (27 pts, 17 reb, 5 ast, 3 blk), and Castle (32 pts, 11 reb) led the charge in Game 6, where San Antonio led by as many as 37 to eliminate Minnesota
Overcoming the physical series with the Wolves, Castle looked ahead to a West Finals matchup with a Thunder squad San Antonio went 4-1 against in the regular-season.
“We know it’s going to be tough to knock them off, but we’re pretty confident we could do it,” said Castle.
That confidence was on full display in Game 1, a double-OT thriller on OKC’s home floor, with an electric 41-point, 24-rebound performance from Wemby and a Spurs’ Playoff-record seven steals from Harper (24 pts)
Clamps: After the champs won two straight, San Antonio rallied in Game 4 behind Wemby’s complete performance (33 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast, 3 blk) and a defensive showing that held OKC to a season-low 38-point 1st half
Facing elimination after dropping Game 5, the young Spurs forced Game 7 on the strength of their 32-13 3rd-quarter takeover, where they held OKC scoreless for over 7 minutes in a 20-0 run. Wemby (28 pts, 10 reb, 3 blk) set the tone
So what will it take for San Antonio to unseat the reigning champion Thunder in Game 7?
“First thing is: listening to the experienced people, whether it’s on our team, on our staff, or outside,” Wemby said. “We got the chance to have plenty of those [people] around.”
4. SGA, OKC FACE FIRST GAME 7 SINCE 2025 FINALS CLINCHER
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
After San Antonio took Game 6, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was asked about fatigue.
“Oh I’m good, I’m ready to go. Biggest game of my career… and if I lose, my season’s over.”
Put that way, the situation sounds daunting. But for SGA, the biggest games of his career have been some of his best.
Mountain Climb: In the first of two Game 7s for the Thunder in last year’s title run, Shai (35 pts, 3 stl) outscored Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray to help put away the Nuggets in the West Semis
“Every night’s an opportunity to learn and get better, and we’re gonna do so,” Shai said at the time of his young Thunder team gaining the big-game experience they lacked, in real-time
Crash Course: That OKC squad was the 2nd-youngest team ever to win a championship, with an average age weighted by playing time of 25.36
Completing that final step took one more Game 7, OKC’s most recent before tonight. SGA (29 pts, 12 ast, 2 blk) rose up again in that deciding game of the Finals against Indy, claiming the series’ MVP honors
Almost a year later, the champs now know exactly what it takes to win in these moments.
“It’s going to take more than just Shai to beat [the Spurs], to beat any team at this point,” Alex Caruso said… “It’s just about being confident in each other and going out there and playing.”
Responding Thunder: Over the last two Playoff runs, OKC is a perfect 9-0 following a postseason loss, including Games 2 and 5 of this West Finals
Can the Thunder again avoid consecutive losses tonight in Game 7 to return to the NBA Finals?
“He felt… an obligation to set a tone for us in a variety of ways,” coach Mitch Johnson said of Wemby during these West Finals.
Tonight, the 22-year-old is set to play the biggest game of his young career, in the series’ deciding game. Fortunately for the Spurs, their tone-setter’s never shied away from big moments.
Alien Unwrapped: All eyes were on Wemby for his Christmas Day debut at MSG in 2024, where he set the Spurs’ record for most points on the Holiday with 42
Emirates NBA Cup: Wemby (22 pts, 9 reb, 21 min) returned from a calf injury to fuel the Spurs’ knockout of OKC in this season’s Semifinals, before adding 18 points in the Cup championship against the Knicks
“Wemby set the tone,” said All-Star Game MVP Anthony Edwards of first-time starter Wembanyama, who led Team World with 33 points on the day
“That’s kind of what Vic does,” Dylan Harper said in the West Finals. “He kind of steps into big moments. He’s never afraid of it. He loves that moment.”
Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images
Embracing the moment in his first-career Playoffs has set Wembanyama apart as the first player ever to total 50+ blocks and 25+ made threes in one postseason run
No Nerves: He’s also set a Spurs’ franchise record for most total points (350+) in a player’s first Playoffs
“I think he has shown in his three years – in a lot of different situations, with a lot of different circumstances – that he’s gonna attack those moments,” coach Johnson said
The 22-year-old Wembanyama posted 22 points and 7 rebounds in the deciding game, a 111-103 Spurs win, and averaged 27.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.7 blocks in 37.7 minutes across the seven games.
San Antonio Spurs forward-center Victor Wembanyama is the recipient of the Earvin “Magic” Johnson Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the 2026 Western Conference Finals. pic.twitter.com/cn0nE0tPFB
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