The San Antonio Spurs will face the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals after a dramatic Game 7 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Co were eyeing back-to-back NBA championships but they were beaten at home by a Spurs team inspired by Victor Wembanyama.
The giant Frenchman was overcome with emotion after the Spurs secured a 111-103 win that earned them victory in the Western Conference Finals.
San Antonio now face the Knicks in a rerun of the 1999 NBA Finals, when the Spurs secured a 4-1 win that kicked off a run of four titles in nine seasons.
Wembanyama, the 7ft 4in phenom who was the No 1 overall pick in 2023, was named MVP for the series.
When asked to explain what sparked his emotion, he said: ‘Realizing that some part of a childhood dream is going to come true… this feeling, I can’t explain it. It’s so powerful.’
Victor Wembanyama was overcome with emotion after the Spurs reached the NBA Finals
San Antonio secured a 111-103 win in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals on Saturday
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 35 points but it wasn’t enough in Game 7
The Spurs, who are headed to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014, will now return to San Antonio for Game 1 on Wednesday. ‘It means everything,’ Wembanyama continued. ‘[But] we want four more. It’s not done.’
Wembanyama scored 22 points and Julian Champagnie made 18 of 20 3-pointers as the Spurs bucked heavy odds to win a Game 7 on the road.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 35 points and nine assists, but for the eighth consecutive season the NBA will have a new champion.
Cason Wallace scored 17 points, while Jared McCain and Alex Caruso had 12 apiece for the Thunder.
After four straight games that were largely decided going into the fourth quarter – the Thunder led Game 3 by 11, the Spurs led Game 4 by 18, the Thunder led Game 5 by 10 and the Spurs led Game 6 by 26, those leads all holding up with relative ease – this one was different.
It was a rollercoaster contest where the Spurs led by as many as 14 in the first half and then by as many as 11 in the third quarter, only to see the Thunder come roaring back both times.
They pulled away again in the fourth, daring the Thunder to try to reel them in one more time. The champions – short-handed, with Jalen Williams sidelined with a bad hamstring – just didn’t have anything left.
San Antonio won eight of the 12 meetings against the Thunder this season – and in the end, the only matchup that really mattered.
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