San Antonio Spurs stun Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 to reach NBA Finals
The San Antonio Spurs upset the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder 113-108 in a decisive Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals on Saturday night, advancing to the NBA Finals. According to ESPN's match recap, Spurs centre Victor Wembanyama, listed at 7-foot-2, scored 18 points in the fourth quarter and finished the night with 32 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks — a performance that prompted ESPN analysts to debate naming the 21-year-old Frenchman as the series MVP.
Thunder appeared to control the first half. The defending champion's point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had scored 28 points by the start of the third quarter, and Oklahoma City held an eight-point halftime lead at 62-54. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich then made a tactical adjustment in the third quarter, deploying Devin Vassell and Stephon Castle as backcourt rotation alongside Wembanyama in what ESPN described as 'a double-jump' defensive look.
The adjustment turned the game. The Spurs won the third quarter 28-19 to close the deficit to one point, entering the fourth quarter trailing Thunder 81-80. In the final period, Wembanyama hit six of nine shots in the most clutch sequences of his rookie-and-sophomore career, earning what ESPN's tracking statistics labelled 'the highest impact-zone numbers' of the entire series.
The final two minutes were a precise balance. With the score 105-104 in San Antonio's favour, Gilgeous-Alexander missed a long jumper, contested by Wembanyama. Stephon Castle, the Spurs' rookie shooting guard, hit a clean three-pointer with 22 seconds remaining to extend the lead to four. Thunder's last-second attempt rimmed out, ending the series.
For the franchise, this Game 7 victory is historically significant. The Spurs had not advanced to the NBA Finals since their 4-1 win over the Miami Heat in 2014. The team had lost four conference finals in the intervening years. Wembanyama, selected first overall in the 2023 NBA Draft, has now in his third season delivered the franchise a return to the Finals; ESPN characterised the Frenchman as 'among the rare players to reach the NBA Finals this early in his career'.
For Thunder, head coach Mark Daigneault said in his post-game press conference that the series 'ended in a painful way'. Gilgeous-Alexander said 'every detail of this series will teach us' and that 'our motivation to come back starts now'. The Thunder were the Western Conference's number-one seed during the regular season, and ESPN framed the series result as 'the biggest single upset of the 2026 postseason'.
Wembanyama's series-long statistics, as published by ESPN, included 28 points, 12.5 rebounds and 5.2 blocks per game. The latter figure is among the highest blocks-per-game averages in any NBA seven-game conference final in league history. Spurs rookie playmaker Stephon Castle averaged 16 points and 6 assists per game across the series, prompting ESPN to describe him as 'the right player at the right time'.
The NBA Finals schedule begins next week. The Spurs will face the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks, who eliminated the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-2 to make their first NBA Finals trip since 1999. ESPN's series preview piece framed the matchup as 'Wembanyama's interior presence against the playmaking leadership of Jalen Brunson', the key tactical contrast.
A further historical note: the Game 7 victory likely places it among the late-career peak wins of Popovich's 25-year coaching tenure. The 75-year-old head coach stepped away temporarily earlier this season due to a transitional health issue before returning to the bench. ESPN's analysis described this game as 'cementing Popovich's place among the great NBA coaches'.
For Thunder, the season ends with what amounts to an early exit just one year after their championship. Daigneault's contract expires at the end of the season, with extension talks reported to be scheduled for the offseason. How Thunder rebuilds heading into 2026-27 will be among the storylines in the background of the Finals next week. ESPN's forecast positioned the Spurs as 4-3 favourites against the Knicks in the upcoming series.