Round 1 of the San Antonio Spurs against the Oklahoma City Thunder officially went to the challengers on Saturday. We can only hope there are many more to come.
The Spurs defeated the defending champion Thunder 111-103 in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals on Saturday in Oklahoma City, ending a series that saw the NBA’s two young powers clash for control of the future. The Spurs will face the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals, which begin Wednesday (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC). It will be their first trip since 2014.
The Thunder are left to ponder how they can improve after previously seeming slated to dominate for years to come.
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The game was naturally billed as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. Victor Wembanyama, the MVP vs. the Defensive Player of the Year. But let the record show that Spurs backup big man Luke Kornet came up with the transition block that swung the game to San Antonio for good, with Wembanyama on the bench after picking up his fifth foul.
Wembanyama did lead San Antonio with 22 points and 7 rebounds, though, while Gilgeous-Alexander had 35 points and 9 assists.
The pressure was on the two-time MVP with OKC’s other top ball-handlers, Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell, out with injuries. SGA did everything possible to get his team back into the NBA Finals, but simply didn’t get enough from the remaining players around him.
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The OKC bench stepped up … Chet Holmgren did not
Like it has throughout this series, the OKC bench did what it could, which was considerable, especially when you think about Cason Wallace entering the starting lineup and scoring 17 points.
The biggest reserve contribution was from big man Jaylin Williams, who had 11 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 0 turnovers while providing mostly effective defense against Wembanyama. By comparison, Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein — OKC’s two starting big men — combined for 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting with 9 rebounds and 4 turnovers.
Holmgren in particular struggled and just about disappeared. His $239 million extension kicks in next season, and in this game he took two shots, both in the first quarter. It got particularly noticeable in the fourth quarter.
Holmgren is a 7-foot-1 freak of nature who earned third-team All-NBA honors this season, and he was completely neutralized this series by an even bigger freak of nature.
Four years ago, the Philadelphia 76ers waived an undrafted rookie after two NBA appearances to make roster room for dunker Mac McClung. That player, Julian Champagnie, landed with the Spurs on a two-way contract.
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That player also just posted 20 points on 11 shots in a Game 7 on the road. The Spurs took the lead for good in the third quarter, and it was a string of 11 points in less than two minutes from Champagnie that got them there.
The NBA will have a new champion for an 8th straight season
The Thunder are the latest NBA champions to fail to repeat, which means there will be a new champ for an eighth consecutive season. That’s a run never before seen in NBA history.
San Antonio now enters the Finals facing a Knicks team on the best 14-game playoff run in NBA history in a rematch of the 1999 Finals that Tim Duncan won at 22 years old.
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Wembanyama is also 22 years old. Stephon Castle (21), Devin Vassell (25), Dylan Harper (20) and Champagnie (24) are playing well beyond their years as well. Many were skeptical a team with five rotation players so young could take down the Thunder.
We now know they were wrong.
Here’s how Game 7 of the Western Conference finals went down at Yahoo Sports.
Live74 updatesSat, May 30, 2026 at 5:23 PM PDT
Jack Baer
Sat, May 30, 2026 at 9:01 PM PDT
Kari Anderson
For some fans, the San Antonio Spurs’ thrilling Game 7 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder was hardly a surprise. After all, the corgi saw it coming.
Air Corgi, a dog who predicts sports outcomes by acrobatically tapping balls into baskets, started going viral for her predictions for the Western Conference Finals after the picks aligned with the final results. With the Spurs’ win on Saturday, Air Corgi’s predictions have officially come true: a perfect seven-for-seven.
As she does with all major playoff series, Air Corgi had seven chances to guess the outcomes of each of the seven games.
In order, the dog predicted all of the wins correctly:
Sat, May 30, 2026 at 8:41 PM PDT
Kate Magdziuk
The 2025-26 NBA Finals series will open up in San Antonio as the Spurs host the New York Knicks in a quest for the Larry O’Brien.
Here’s a look at the full schedule, with all games tipping off at 8:30 p.m. ET:
Game 1 @ Spurs: Wednesday, June 3
Game 2 @ Spurs: Friday, June 5
Game 3 @ Knicks: Monday, June 8
Game 4 @ Knicks: Wednesday, June 10
Game 5 @ Spurs (if necessary): Saturday, June 13
Game 6 @ Knicks (if necessary): Tuesday, June 16 at 8:30 p.m. ET
Game 7 @ Spurs (if necessary): Friday, June 19 at 8:30 p.m. ET
Sat, May 30, 2026 at 8:07 PM PDT
Kari Anderson
Sat, May 30, 2026 at 8:02 PM PDT
Kari Anderson
Sat, May 30, 2026 at 7:58 PM PDT
Kari Anderson
Wembanyama has been on a tear in these playoffs, dropping 41 points in Game 1 of the series and continue to rack it up from there. The Alien has scored nearly 200 points across the seven games, making a massive impact on both ends of the court as the Spurs win the conference title.
Sat, May 30, 2026 at 7:50 PM PDT
Kari Anderson
The Spurs’ defense stifles the Thunder in the final seconds, forcing long three-point misses from Kenrich Williams and Alex Caruso as OKC desperately tries to make it a one-score game. But it’s too late for the Thunder, who simply run out of time against the Spurs.
Devin Vassell puts an exclamation point on San Antonio’s win with a running dunk, as the Spurs become the Western Conference champions.
Sat, May 30, 2026 at 7:44 PM PDT
Kari Anderson
This time it’s Chet Holmgren’s turn for a massive block, denying Dylan Harper an attempted dunk. On the other end, Carson Wallace gets a huge three-pointer to bring the Thunder within six points.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who leads both teams with 35 points, looks wiped out as Oklahoma City tries to pull off a last-ditch comeback here.
Sat, May 30, 2026 at 7:40 PM PDT
Kari Anderson
Kornet sprints after Hartenstein for a momentum-stifling, potentially game-changing block to keep the Spurs pulling away
Sat, May 30, 2026 at 7:37 PM PDT
Kari Anderson
Sat, May 30, 2026 at 7:29 PM PDT
Kari Anderson
Johnson has scored eight of his 11 points in the first few minutes of the 4th quarter.
Sat, May 30, 2026 at 7:29 PM PDT
Jack Baer
Wemby just picked up his fifth foul. Here we go.
Sat, May 30, 2026 at 7:28 PM PDT
Jack Baer
Chet Holmgren had another possession where he completely noped out with Wemby in front of him. You would think it hard to put a 7-foot-1 man in witness protection but the Defensive Player of the Year is doing it effortlessly when it comes up.
Sat, May 30, 2026 at 7:26 PM PDT
Jack Baer
Sat, May 30, 2026 at 7:25 PM PDT
Jack Baer
A Victor Wembanyama stepback 3-pointer and Keldon Johnson transition layup puts the Spurs up 11 with 8 minutes left. As NBC’s Mike Tirico just said, the champs are on the ropes.
Sat, May 30, 2026 at 7:21 PM PDT
Jack Baer
Chet Holmgren hasn’t attempted a shot since the first quarter. He just got an iso against Wemby, then tripped in the paint in a possession that ended with a Jared McCain airball. If OKC loses this, he will be trying to forget this game for a while.
Sat, May 30, 2026 at 7:17 PM PDT
Jack Baer
The fourth quarter starts with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the bench and Victor Wembanyama on court. These are going to be some very important minutes.
Sat, May 30, 2026 at 7:15 PM PDT
Jack Baer
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has 31 points and 6 assists through three quarters. He will probably have to do even more to get OKC out of this, as no other starter has more than 4 points. The bench is once again the reason the Thunder are in this.
Meanwhile, Victor Wembanyama has 16 points and 7 rebounds, while Julian Champagnie has 17 points on 5-of-17 shooting.
Sat, May 30, 2026 at 7:11 PM PDT
Jack Baer
Jaylin Williams has 11 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists in a game where the Thunder’s two starting big men have combined for 8 points and 9 rebounds. He just made a 3-point to pull OKC within 2.
Sat, May 30, 2026 at 7:07 PM PDT
Jack Baer
The Thunder’s last nine points scored:
It hasn’t been pretty, but it’s also why they’re down only 5 as we approach the end of the thirc quarter.
Sat, May 30, 2026 at 6:59 PM PDT
Jack Baer
Chet Holmgren has two shot attempts in 24 minutes, which isn’t great in a “Thunder need someone to step up with Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell out” Game 7.