Spurs Win Massive Game 7, Set Up Finals Clash With Knicks

The San Antonio Spurs are back in the NBA Finals, and Victor Wembanyama is taking them there years ahead of schedule.

San Antonio stunned the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder 111-103 on the road in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals, completing one of the most dramatic playoff breakthroughs in recent NBA history and setting up a Finals matchup with the New York Knicks.

The closing seconds captured the scale of the moment. After Devin Vassell threw down a final dunk with 4.1 seconds left, Wembanyama grabbed at his jersey, screamed toward the floor, broke down in tears and celebrated with teammates near the Spurs bench. Five months after turning 22, he had reached his first NBA Finals.

“Winning the Larry O’Brien, it’s a childhood dream,” Wembanyama said. “Having a real shot at it, having a tangible chance at winning it, realizing a dream. The day we win it, speaking for myself, it’s going to be an amazing day.”

The Spurs became the first Finals team in NBA history whose two leading scorers, Wembanyama and Stephon Castle, are both 22 or younger. They are also the second-youngest Finals team ever by weighted minutes played, behind only the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers.

Wembanyama powered the series with 28.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and 19 total blocks, the most in a conference finals since Alonzo Mourning in 2005. He won Western Conference finals MVP unanimously.

But San Antonio’s rise was not his alone. Castle averaged 19.2 points and 6.7 assists during the playoff run while defending Anthony Edwards and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in back-to-back rounds. Rookie guard Dylan Harper delivered key moments throughout the series, including a late 3 and critical rebounds in Game 7. De’Aaron Fox, playing through a high ankle sprain, added 15 points and three steals in the clincher.

Luke Kornet also had a crucial fourth-quarter sequence after Wembanyama picked up his fifth foul. Kornet blocked Isaiah Hartenstein at the rim in transition, sparking a Spurs fast break that helped protect the lead.

The win completed a stunning turnaround for San Antonio. The Spurs went 22-60 in Wembanyama’s rookie season and improved to 34 wins the following year before his season was cut short by a blood clot issue in his shoulder. This season, they won 62 games, with Wembanyama winning Defensive Player of the Year unanimously and finishing third in MVP voting.

Now they face the Knicks, who swept Cleveland to reach their first Finals since 1999 and enter the series on an 11-game playoff winning streak.

Game 1 is Wednesday night in San Antonio. The Knicks won two of three meetings against the Spurs this season, including the NBA Cup final.

For Wembanyama, the celebration was intense, but he made clear he wants the feeling again.

“The crazy thing is, maybe I’m crazy, but I want to feel that 15, 20 more times,” he said. “Maybe it already is an addiction.”