Spurs Oust Thunder, Wembanyama Leads Team to Finals

In the closing minute in Oklahoma City, the building that had been a fortress all season fell silent as if someone had cut the power. On the floor a young man over seven feet tall turned toward the visitors’ bench and spread his arms, and his teammates piled into him before the final buzzer even sounded.

In that moment Victor Wembanyama knew he had taken the San Antonio Spurs somewhere the club had not been in twelve years. The visitors won Game 7 of the Western Conference finals 111-103, toppling the defending champions on their own court on the night of May 30.

How did the Spurs break the champions on the road?

San Antonio built the whole series on patience, and Game 7 on a cool head in the moments when the arena wanted to swallow them whole. Wembanyama finished with 22 points and three made threes, but the number that says the most is his presence in the paint, where he shut down every drive the home side tried.

Oklahoma City hung on as long as it could thanks to its leader. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 35 points and carried the offense almost alone, but the support around him dried up at exactly the wrong time. When one player has to do everything, against a San Antonio team like this it is not enough.

Wembanyama was named MVP of the Western Conference finals, the first major trophy of his young career. For the Spurs it is their first NBA Finals since 2014, when the generation led by Tim Duncan lifted a fifth title.

What comes next for San Antonio in the Finals?

In the fight for the title the Spurs face the New York Knicks, a team that reached the Finals without a single loss in the previous round. The Knicks swept Cleveland 4-0 and stacked up eleven playoff wins, so they enter the series rested and confident.

The local broadcaster KSAT pointed to an unusual statistic from this postseason.

For the eighth straight year the NBA will have a new champion, since the defending champion has been eliminated.

Game 1 of the Finals is set for June 3 in San Antonio, where the home crowd will see its team on the biggest stage for the first time in twelve years. Wembanyama against a rested New York, the young champion of the West against a side entering the Finals with fresh legs, that is the frame of a series that tips off on Wednesday.

Can Wembanyama win a ring in his first run to the Finals, or will a more experienced New York teach him how much that final step costs?