The Western Conference Finals are set, and the matchup is everything the NBA has been hoping for. The San Antonio Spurs eliminated the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night to advance, and now they will face the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder beginning Monday at Paycom Center.
This is a passing-of-the-torch series with massive long-term implications. Victor Wembanyama and the young Spurs against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the reigning champs. Two of the best teams of this era. Two of the best young rosters anywhere in the league. Two coaches who could not be more different in style.
Game 1 tips off Monday, May 18 at 7:30 p.m. on NBC and Peacock. Game 2 follows Wednesday, May 20. The series shifts to San Antonio for Game 3 on Friday and Game 4 the following Sunday.
How the Spurs Got Here
Stephon Castle dropped 32 points in the Game 6 closer against Minnesota. De’Aaron Fox added 21. Wembanyama logged 19 with the kind of two-way impact that has been making MVP voters seriously consider him this year. The Spurs needed every contribution because the Wolves refused to die easily in Anthony Edwards’s first taste of a deep playoff run.
San Antonio is in the Conference Finals for the first time since 2017. That gap matters. Most of this Spurs core was in middle school the last time the franchise played at this stage. The experience curve for Wemby and Castle is going to be steep.
What OKC Is Doing
The Thunder swept the Lakers in five games. They are 8-0 in the playoffs. Shai is averaging 32 points per game on absurd efficiency. Jalen Williams is the second option that every contender wishes it had. Chet Holmgren is back to full health and is rim-protecting at an All-Defensive level.
OKC won four of the five regular-season meetings against San Antonio. That number gets pulled out in every preview, and it is a real data point. The Thunder know how to defend Wembanyama. They have the personnel to chase Castle around screens. They have the experience to handle a road environment in San Antonio.
The Key Matchups
Wemby against Chet is the marquee battle. Both are 7-feet tall, both can shoot, both can defend, and both can dominate a possession from end to end. The first time they played in the playoffs was last spring’s Round 1. This time it is the conference finals, and the difference in scale is enormous.
Castle against Lu Dort is the under-the-radar matchup. Dort is the league’s best perimeter defender. Castle is one of the most fearless scorers in the playoffs. If Castle gets going, OKC has to send help, and that opens up everything else for the Spurs.
The Pick
The Thunder have not lost in these playoffs. They have home court. They have the best player in the series. They have the experience advantage in a brutal way.
San Antonio gets at least one game at home. Wemby will have at least one stretch where he looks like a video game character. But the Thunder are the more polished team, the more dangerous team, and the better-coached team right now.
OKC in six. Pencil them into the NBA Finals.
The series starts Monday. The future of the West may be deciding itself over the next two weeks.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
