Spurs Reach NBA Finals; Victor Wembanyama Named MVP Of WCF
The Spurs won a tough Game 7 at Oklahoma City Saturday night to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014. The 111-103 victory sets up a matchup with the Knicks for the NBA championship, with Game 1 tipping off Wednesday night in San Antonio.
Victor Wembanyama was a unanimous choice as Most Valuable Player of the Western Conference Finals (Twitter links). He received the Earvin “Magic” Johnson trophy in a vote by nine media members.
Wembanyama played 42 minutes in Game 7, finishing with 22 points, seven rebounds and two assists, and he got plenty of help from his teammates. De’Aaron Fox contributed 15 points, five assists and three steals and hit several big shots to stave off Thunder rallies. Julian Champagnie added 20 points with six three-pointers, Keldon Johnson sank two crucial threes in the fourth quarter and backup center Luke Kornet may have made the play of the game by blocking Isaiah Hartenstein on a breakaway (Twitter video link).
League MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 35 points, with many of them coming on difficult shots over multiple defenders. Cason Wallace added 17, but OKC couldn’t find much other scoring with Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell both sidelined by injuries. Chet Holmgren had a particularly forgettable night, finishing with four points on just two shots from the field.
“They’re young, talented, well-coached, play the right way, seems like they like each other,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of the Spurs (Twitter link from Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic). “They have the make-up. You don’t beat us without the make-up.”
The victory not only gives the Spurs a shot at their first NBA title in 12 years, it may signify the start of a long-term shift in the balance of power. With the deepest roster in the league, the Thunder looked capable of stringing together a potential dynasty after winning 68 and 64 games the past two seasons. But San Antonio took down the defending champs with a younger core built around Wembanyama (22), Stephon Castle (21) and Dylan Harper (20).
This year’s series could also be the start of an extended high-stakes rivalry between the two franchises. The Thunder have the ability to bring back virtually their entire roster next season, but they also have a stockpile of draft picks if they want to chase a veteran star. Regardless of which path they choose, Oklahoma City and San Antonio figure to enter the 2026/27 season as heavy favorites to grab the top two seeds again and return to the Western Conference finals.
Wembanyama was overcome by emotion as the final seconds ticked away, and he spent several minutes hugging teammates and friends before heading to the locker room. Speaking at the post-game press conference, he made it clear that the Spurs’ mission isn’t complete, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.
“We want four more,” Wembanyama said. “We’re not done.”
Warriors Notes: Porzingis, Green, Podziemski, Free Agent Targets
The most important decision of the Warriors’ offseason could be whether to re-sign free agent big man Kristaps Porzingis or to free up enough money to use the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, writes Keith Smith of Spotrac. Porzingis was productive when he played this season, but he was only available for 15 games after being acquired from Atlanta at the trade deadline. Smith suggests a short-term deal if Golden State decides to keep him, something in the neighborhood of $50MM over two years.
However, parting with some salary could enable the Warriors to use the NTMLE, which is projected to be worth a little over $15MM next season. Smith theorizes that could be enough to lure LeBron James if he decides to leave the Lakers this summer and doesn’t want to settle for a salary that’s at or near the veteran’s minimum. Smith mentions a few other free agents who might be available in that price range, including John Collins, Rui Hachimura, CJ McCollum, Anfernee Simons and Khris Middleton.
Smith expects Draymond Green to turn down his $27.7MM player option for a longer deal, but not at a huge discount. Smith proposes around $75MM over three seasons, with either a partial guarantee or a team option on the final year. Al Horford ($5.9MM) and De’Anthony Melton ($3.5MM) also have player options that Smith believes they’ll exercise because neither is likely to earn more in free agency.
There’s more on the Warriors:
- A potential rookie scale extension for Brandin Podziemski is another order of business for the summer, Smith adds. Podziemski hasn’t become a star during his three years with the team, but he’s steadily improved and has value as a passer and rebounder as well as a scorer. Smith advises the Warriors to make the deal if they can lock up Podziemski for around $64MM over four seasons. Otherwise, they should wait and negotiate with him as a restricted free agent next summer.
- Michigan State center Carson Cooper, who worked out for the Warriors this week, patterns parts of his game after Green and believes he would be a good fit in Golden State, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle relays in a subscriber-only story. “How he played, the way he can impact the game is kind of how I feel I can impact the game a little bit,” Cooper said. “I play hard-nosed defense, get shooters open, give them the ball, work on the (dribble handoffs), facilitate, find cutters and passing and just be a solid player.”
- Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle (subscription required) points to Simons, Ayo Dosunmu, Jaxson Hayes, Josh Okogie, and Coby White as free agents who could add some youth and athleticism to the Warriors’ roster.
Spurs Notes: Sweeney, M. Johnson, Barnes, Game 7
Sean Sweeney has been considered for several head coaching vacancies, so it was no surprise to the Spurs when news broke Friday that their top assistant was finalizing a deal with the Magic, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Speaking to the media before tonight’s Game 7 at Oklahoma City, San Antonio head coach Mitch Johnson expressed support for Sweeney in his new endeavor.
“Thrilled for Sean. He deserves it,” Johnson said. “He’s had many opportunities of potentially becoming a head coach and so it was a matter of when, not if, even when I reached out to him to speak with him for the first time.”
Johnson hired Sweeney last summer to run the defense, and the team’s improvement on that end of the court has been significant. Sweeney has relied on an aggressive scheme at the perimeter, with Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama patrolling the middle to erase any mistakes.
“Definitely happy for him,” Devin Vassell said of Sweeney. “The impact that he’s had here has been tremendous. I mean, he’s challenged everybody to be better on the defensive end. He’s holding us to a certain standard. You know, I wish him all the luck.”
There’s more on the Spurs:
- Game 7 will be a new experience for most of San Antonio’s young roster, but Johnson is confident that his team is ready to meet the challenge, relays Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). The Spurs seized the momentum in the back-and-forth series with a 27-point win on Thursday. “I think we’ve handled it appropriately,” Johnson said of the preparation since then. “Played this team a lot this year and recently, so a lot of attention to detail, but not a whole lot of new for the most part, at least on the surface level.”
- Harrison Barnes is celebrating his 34th birthday today, and the Spurs are hoping it’s a good omen, Orsborn writes in a subscriber-only story. Research by Legion Hoops recently revealed that no NBA player has lost a Game 7 on his birthday since at least 1966. Teammates sang “Happy Birthday” to Barnes after this morning’s shootaround and talked about his importance. “Shout out to HB,” Vassell said. “It’s been great for us so far and just his wisdom and his knowledge being in so many different games, game sevens, championship games, whatever the case may be. He’s been able to just kind of calm us down and just tell us kind of what to expect. It’s unexpected what’s going to happen in this game, but he’s kind of just giving us guidance in what to expect and what to feel during these games.“
- Even though the series has reached a seventh game, it hasn’t featured many memorable moments since the overtime thriller in the opener. Eric Koreen of The Athletic says that’s relatively common in playoff history, but adds that the matchup could still be remembered as legendary if it has an exciting conclusion.
Mark Daigneault: No Setbacks For Jalen Williams In Game 6
Thunder wing Jalen Williams won’t be available for Saturday’s Game 7 against San Antonio, but coach Mark Daigneault said in a pregame session with reporters that he didn’t do any further damage to his strained left hamstring by playing on Thursday, relays Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Williams has missed most of the series after aggravating the strain in Game 2, but he returned for Game 6 in hopes of helping Oklahoma City close out the Spurs. He was clearly still bothered by the injury, as he was limited to one point, one assist and two turnovers and was a minus-18 in 10 minutes.
Daigneault acknowledged that Williams didn’t have the benefit of going through normal return-to-play protocol where he could gradually test the injury under progressively harder circumstances. He said “all of the stakeholders” got together before Game 6 and again afterward to assess Williams’ condition.
“No setback. He came out of the game about where he went into it,” Daigneault said, per Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman (Twitter link). “He didn’t do a full return to play, obviously. We knew he wouldn’t be a full 100 percent. He, or we, didn’t know what that would look like and what he’d be able to do when he got out in the game. The only way to find out was to get him out there.
“I can’t even talk about this without acknowledging the level of competitiveness and team orientation that it takes for a guy to be willing to do that. That’s somebody who’s used to playing up here (raises hand), knowing he’s not going to be up here, but is just willing to do whatever he can to help the team. These are player decisions. He’s got a career. He’s got a circle. There’s obviously a responsibility we have to the player as well. And all of the stakeholders huddled in the conversation to try to give it a go (in Game 6). We huddled coming out of the game with the decision not to go in Game 7.
“But he’s feeling about the same as he did. He actually came out of the game pretty good from where he is in the normal rehab. Depending on what happens today, if we’re fortunate enough to win and advance, he’ll continue to rehab and we’ll take the same process as we go forward. But that’s obviously getting ahead of ourselves. As it relates to him, he’s been an unbelievable team guy and partner in this situation. We have the utmost respect for him.”
Williams was a major contributor in the Thunder’s title run last spring, but he has been limited since suffering the hamstring strain in Game 2 of the first-round series with Phoenix. He sat out the entire second-round sweep against the Lakers and then returned to score 26 points in 37 minutes in the first game of the conference finals. However, he played just seven minutes in Game 2 before the hamstring became an issue again.
OKC will also be without guard Ajay Mitchell, who will miss his fourth straight game with a right soleus (calf) strain.
Knicks Notes: Robinson, Anunoby, Shamet, Long Layoff
Mitchell Robinson‘s broken pinky finger came at a bad time, but the Knicks won’t use his injury as an excuse if they lose in the NBA Finals, writes Ian O’Connor of The Athletic. Robinson underwent surgery and hopes to be able to play with a brace on his finger when the series begins Wednesday night.
In a discussion with reporters on Friday, coach Mike Brown refused to speculate on Robinson’s availability, saying “it varies” from one player to another when asked how long it takes to recover from a fractured finger. Brown added that he learned years ago that it’s crucial for the head coach to remain calm no matter what affects the team.
“I feel like I’m pretty good at that,” he said. “We all have had curveballs come at you that are bigger than (Robinson’s injury) in life, and trying to even do it when you have those curveballs helps you prepare for something that is really a kid’s game. So that’s what I try to do, no matter what it is.”
League sources tell Stefan Bondy of The New York Post that Robinson’s injury is a fracture of the fifth metacarpal, which connects the wrist to the pinky finger. Robinson wasn’t a participant in Friday’s practice and it’s not clear if he’s expected to take part in Sunday’s session.
“For me, I’m always going with whoever is available today,” Brown added. “And [Robinson] didn’t practice today. So we’re getting whoever we need ready to go. … I don’t want to know, just let me know if he can play and when he can play. Just like we normally would, we’re getting everyone else ready to go.”
There’s more from New York:
- OG Anunoby won a ring with Toronto in 2019, but he didn’t get to fully enjoy the experience because an emergency appendectomy forced him to miss the entire playoffs, notes James L. Edwards of The Athletic. There were concerns that he might be sidelined for a long time this year after aggravating a hamstring injury in Game 2 against Philadelphia, but he returned to have a huge impact in the conference finals. “He’s locked in and doing all of things we know he’s capable of,” Jalen Brunson said. “He’s doing what he does. He’s playing great.”
- Landry Shamet overcame a lot of adversity before earning a spot as an important part of Knicks’ second unit, Peter Sblendorio of The New York Daily News notes in a subscriber-only story. After joining the team on an Exhibit 9 contract in September of 2024, Shamet suffered a dislocated shoulder during preseason and wound up being waived. He was re-signed in December, but former coach Tom Thibodeau barely used him in the playoffs. Shamet had to earn his way onto the roster again last fall, beating out several players for the last spot. His role has been more consistent under Brown, and now he’s preparing for his first trip to the NBA Finals. “It means everything to be going to the Finals, and we’ve got a lot more to do,” Shamet said. “Really proud of this group and happy to be a part of this group, and we all know what it’s going to require from us moving forward. That’s all I’m thinking about.”
- The Knicks will have been through their second nine-day break by the time the Finals opener tips off, and they’re vowing that it won’t affect their level of play, per Zach Braziller of The New York Post. The long break seemed to bother the team heading into the conference finals as it fell into a 22-point hole against Cleveland before rallying to win Game 1. “Obviously, rust will be a thing, just having not shot in an NBA game in a while. But we’ll do a better job this time around of preparing for that kind of situation to happen,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “Obviously, the coaching staff did an amazing job getting us ready for Game 1, but we just didn’t go out there and shoot well.”
Draft Notes: Brown, Mara, Johnson, Graves, Miller, More
ESPN’s Jeremy Woo has updated his top-100 big board following this week’s deadline for early entrants to withdraw from the draft and maintain their college eligibility. The top 25 prospects on Woo’s board are the same players who made the cut for his last update, but there has been a good deal of movement amongst that group.
The top six of AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, Caleb Wilson, Keaton Wagler and Darius Acuff remains unchanged. However, Louisville guard Mikel Brown has moved up from No. 9 to No. 7 and has a chance to be selected earlier than that next month if he continues to perform well in the pre-draft process, Woo writes.
Michigan center Aday Mara and his former frontcourt teammate Morez Johnson are two other prospects on the rise, with Mara moving up from No. 13 to No. 10 and Johnson making a huge leap from No. 24 to No. 14. As Woo notes, both big men were winners at the draft combine after excelling during the Wolverines’ run to the NCAA championship.
According to Woo, rival NBA clubs view the Nets (No. 6) as Mara’s ceiling, with the Hawks (No. 8), Warriors (No. 11) and Thunder (No. 12) also considered possible lottery suitors. As for Johnson, Woo suggests the 20-year-old’s draft range starts in the late lottery and ends in the teens.
While Santa Clara forward Allen Graves is a somewhat polarizing prospect, he has moved up to No. 17 (from No. 25) on ESPN’s board and seems to be “trending toward a top-20 selection,” Woo writes.
Here’s more from Woo’s updated big board:
- A handful of players projected first-round picks have seen their stock slip in recent weeks, according to Woo. That group includes Houston’s Chris Cenac (No. 21), Kentucky’s Jayden Quaintance (No. 22), Duke’s Isaiah Evans (No. 24) and Arizona’s Koa Peat (No. 25). Each of those players moved down either four or five spots from Woo’s last update.
- Cincinnati forward Baba Miller (No. 45 to No. 36), Arizona guard Jaden Bradley (No. 46 to No. 39) and Arkansas big man Trevon Brazile (No. 48 to No. 40) are among the potential second-round picks who have moved up several spots in the wake of the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline.
Spurs Notes: Game 7, Castle, Harper, Vassell
Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson expects the defending champion Thunder to come out swinging in tonight’s Game 7 in Oklahoma City, writes Jordan Davis of The Oklahoman (subscriber link).
“I think a lot of fans are going to be happy,” Johnson said after Thursday’s Game 6 win. “… We’ll be prepared, take the next 40 hours or whatever it may be to try to get ready, get organized, and get ready to go into a hostile environment against the defending champs in the Western Conference finals.
“For a team that’s done it multiple times and knows exactly what it takes, I would expect to get their best punch. We’re gonna go out with our eyes wide open and expect nothing less.”
Here’s more on the Spurs:
- Second-year guard Stephon Castle has done an admirable job keeping Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in check during the Western Conference finals with smothering on-ball defense. Castle said the Spurs think they’re the better team heading into Saturday’s contest, according to Davis. “As a group, we all want this,” Castle said. “It’s right there in front of us. We feel like collectively that we’re better than this team and we didn’t want to let our fans down on our home court either. So coming out here with a chance to go back to OKC and play a Game 7 I feel like is all the motivation we need.”
- After struggling in Games 3-5, in part due to a hamstring injury, Dylan Harper played a key role in the Spurs’ Game 6 victory, as Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News writes (subscription required). The rookie guard, who was selected second overall in last year’s draft, finished with 18 points (on 6-of-9 shooting), six rebounds and four assists in 22 minutes. “People pulled me aside, just kept instilling confidence in me, trying to tell me to just go out there and be me, be in attack mode at all times,” Harper said. “I think I went out there and did that today.”
- Starting wing Devin Vassell said sleep wasn’t easy to come by on Friday night, Orsborn notes in another subscriber-only story. Still, the 25-year-old appeared energetic and jovial during Saturday’s shootaround. “You dream of this as a kid,” Vassell said of playing in his first Game 7. “Just more excited than anything. We have a chance to do something special.”
Thunder Notes: SGA, Caruso, Game 7, Ament
Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has had an underwhelming Western Conference finals to this point, largely struggling against San Antonio’s smothering defense, writes Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman (subscriber link).
The reigning back-to-back MVP also hasn’t converted the looks he normally makes, Martinez notes. During the regular season, the Canadian guard shot 55% when he was open (defined as 4-6 feet of space), but he’s only converting 37% of his open looks against the Spurs.
“I’m not too sure, to be honest,” Gilgeous-Alexander said when asked why his shots aren’t falling at their usual rate. “A lot of the shots that I’m shooting, I’ve shot plenty of times before, and they feel good. They’re just not going in.”
Gilgeous-Alexander was visibly tired after Thursday’s Game 6 loss in San Antonio, according to Martinez, but the 27-year-old is confident he and the team will bounce back in Saturday’s do-or-die Game 7 in Oklahoma City.
“It’s too late to abandon my work, my game and who I am this late in the season,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I’ve got to trust it and live or die by it.”
Here’s more on the Thunder:
- While Gilgeous-Alexander has struggled with his shot, the opposite has been true for veteran Alex Caruso, who’s averaging 15.3 points per game while knocking down 55.6% of his three-pointers through six games against the Spurs. For context, the 32-year-old averaged 6.2 PPG and shot a career-low 29.3% on threes in 56 regular season games, well below his career rate of 36.5%. Caruso never questions the competitiveness of his teammates, per Martinez (Twitter video link). “It puts you at ease knowing you’re going to get the best from each guy. They’re going to go out there and put their best foot forward and do what they need to do to sacrifice for the team and try to win the game, which is all you can do,” Caruso said. “All you can ask for is to go out there and play your best and let the results fall where they may. Looking around the locker room, there’s no doubt in my mind that the guys are ready to go to war for each other.”
- Aside from the double-overtime classic in Game 1, the other five games of the Western Conference finals have been pretty lopsided, with an average margin of victory of 17 points, Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes in his preview of Game 7. Kurt Helin of NBC Sports also previews the Game 7 matchup between the Spurs and Thunder, noting that OKC doesn’t believe being at home will be a major advantage. “Anything can happen in a Game 7,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s win or go home. It being in your building is nice, but it doesn’t really mean anything. You have to go out there and be the better basketball team or else your season’s done and that’s what it comes down to.”
- Projected lottery pick Nate Ament confirmed to Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports that he had a 1-on-0 workout with the Thunder earlier this week (Twitter video link). The Tennessee forward said the workout was “super tough endurance wise.” Oklahoma City currently controls the 12th, 17th and 37th picks in June’s draft, though there have been rumors that the team might try to move up.
Free Agent Jusuf Nurkic Wants To Remain In NBA
Jusuf Nurkic has no intention of leaving the NBA despite speculation that he might be interested in going to Europe to continue his career. Nurkic, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, made an appearance on the X and O’s Podcast and spoke about the Serbian club Partizan, as relayed by Eurohoops.net.
“I didn’t have an offer from the black-and-whites (Partizan). I didn’t, at least I don’t know that I did, but I wish that I had,” the Bosnian big man said.
Nurkic clarified on social media that he was speaking about the early days of his career, not his current status.
“My statement was taken out of context. I was referring to the very beginning of my basketball career,” he wrote. “Of course I didn’t have an offer from Partizan back then. I’m a fan and I have great respect for (Partizan), but I have no intention of leaving the NBA.”
Nurkic spent this year with the Jazz, averaging 10.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 26.4 minutes per game. He only played 41 games (36 starts), as his season was cut short after the All-Star break by nasal surgery.
Earlier in 2025/26, he missed time due to a toe injury and also had several DNP-CDs. He was a prime candidate to be dealt before the Feb. 5 trade deadline due his expiring $19.3MM contract.
Nurkic reportedly would like to re-sign with Utah, though it’s uncertain whether the team will make him an offseason priority. In any case, Nurkic will likely have to take a pay cut to stay in the league. The 31-year-old has been a fixture in the NBA since the 2014/15 season.
Central Notes: Cavs, Mitchell, Suder, Pacers, Pistons
Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman doesn’t think the roster needs major changes after his team got swept by New York in the conference finals, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
“Everybody is aligned in where we want to get to,“ Altman said. ”We all know we need to dig deep to take that next step. I always say two things can be true. We hated the way it ended. We were disappointed with the way it ended. I think the reason for that is we have higher expectations. … We believe in the players that we have in house. It’s been a long road to get here. It’s been five years of sustained success, and we’re still doing this [gradually improving], but we have to figure out how we break through it one more time, and that’s going to be the most difficult step.”
How they make that step is up for discussion among the front office.
“Over the last five years, we’ve retooled this roster, added to this roster. We’ve looked internally. We’ve grown internally. We’re operating at a position of real strength in terms of our foundation,” he said. “And I think those discussions happen now. Do we have enough? Do we add around the edges? This is certainly not a place where we’re like, ‘We need to blow this up and start again.’ That’s certainly not where we’re at. But those discussions will happen. But certainly, internally right now, there’s more that we have that we can get to.”
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- In the last installment of his Andscape diary via Marc J. Spears, Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell admits that getting swept was a difficult way to go out this season. “It was a very painful ending. To go out like that, you try to put on a smile and try to move past it,” he said. “It’ll take a little bit. The worst part about it is just the sweep. We had an opportunity, right? It was right there. I’m saying we go ahead and win the series. Whatever happens, happens. But when you have an opportunity, man, and you watch it go past, that’s killer. And at the end with the 35-, whatever it was, point loss. That s‑‑t, I don’t really know how else to describe it. But that’s one of the things. It don’t matter all the success we’ve had. Yeah, it’s great. But when you lose like that, it’s tough.”
- Peter Suder, who hails from Carmel, Ind., visited the Pacers‘ practice facility for a draft workout on Thursday. Suder averaged 14.8 points and 4.0 assists for Miami (Ohio) last season. “It’s definitely surreal,” Suder said to Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “(Growing up) 30 minutes away from this facility, it’s just crazy. It’s always been a dream growing up, especially being an Indiana fan, a Pacers fan. All my friends, family back at home, they’re all rooting for me to go to the Pacers, so it’s just a surreal feeling.” Indiana currently doesn’t have a pick in the draft, but is doing its due diligence on the 2026 class.
- Kevin Huerter is the only significant Pistons free agent who is likely to leave, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press predicts. He believes the team will reach agreements with restricted free agent Jalen Duren, as well as unrestricted free agents Tobias Harris and Javonte Green, and will exercise its option on Daniss Jenkins‘ contract.