Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama ready for rare Game 7
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder driving against the San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama during the Spurs' 118-91 win in Game 6 of the NBA Western Conference Finals on May 28, 2026.
PHOTO: AFP
Oklahoma City – It did not take long after Oklahoma City’s Game 6 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Western Conference Finals for Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to start turning the page.
“Oh, I’m good. I’m ready to go,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Biggest game of my career.”
That is bold talk for a player who led his team to a Game 7 win in the NBA Finals last season.
But Gilgeous-Alexander is putting that kind of weight on the May 30 (May 31, Singapore time) Game 7 matchup with the Spurs in Oklahoma City for a berth in the NBA Finals.
It is the first Game 7 in the Western Conference Finals since Golden State Warriors-Houston Rockets in 2018 and just the sixth Conference Finals Game 7 between the top two seeds since the 16-team format began in 1983.
The winners will take on the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals beginning on June 3.
The May 30 game will be the fifth Game 7 of these play-offs, tied for the most winner-takes-all games in a single post-season.
Home teams have split the previous four, with the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers finishing off series with Game 7 wins on the road.
The Thunder will try to turn things around after San Antonio led wire-to-wire in Game 6.
“It’s a double-edged sword, right?” Oklahoma City guard Alex Caruso said. “You gotta put it behind you, clear the mind and get ready to compete again, but also learn from what you did wrong and try to figure out how you can be better.”
Gilgeous-Alexander has not been efficient in the series, shooting just 37.9 per cent from the floor. And Jalen Williams, who played 10 ineffective minutes in Game 6 while playing through his left hamstring injury, was ruled out for Game 7.
But during last season’s run to the NBA championship, the Thunder won a pair of Game 7s at home, both after losing Game 6 by double figures.
Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said those experiences will help, adding: “Take the lessons from tonight that are relevant for Game 7 and be ready to go out there and throw our best punch.”
While Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder have Game 7 experience, this will be the first such situation for the Spurs and star Victor Wembanyama, who is averaging 28.2 points and 11.5 rebounds per game during the series.
After being somewhat passive in Game 5, Wembanyama set the tone in Game 6 and finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds. He is shooting 48.2 per cent from the floor in the series.
“I think that his biggest growth this year is not waiting to be perfect or necessarily knowing what to do all the time, but attack the moment and have the right approach and live with the results,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said.
Spurs associate head coach Sean Sweeney is expected to remain throughout the rest of their play-off run despite closing in on a deal to coach the Orlando Magic, according to reports on May 29.
Sweeney has been a key to the defensive improvement that has helped make San Antonio title contenders this season.
In the Game 6 win, it was the Spurs’ defence that kick-started the 20-0 third-quarter run that put the game away. REUTERS
