This isn't the end for OKC... but it's the beginning for the Spurs
What will you remember?
It’s so hard to pick one moment. Every play flashes in my mind and is gone, a lightbulb jolting to life for just a second before flickering away, leaving spots and darkness before the next one pops.
Steph Castle and Dylan Harper grabbing each other’s jerseys and cheering, spittle flying, screaming raucously in each other’s faces. Luke Kornet, who had been the LVP of the series to this point, pulling off one of the greatest and most important chasedown blocks we’ve seen since guys named LeBron and Tayshaun (my god, look at the time and score in that clip) were doing their thing. The Harper three to put the Spurs up 12 that, in retrospect, put the final nail in OKC’s vampire coffin (despite some incredible Cason Wallace responses). Wemby dunking Chet Holmgren into oblivion yet again. An ailing Fox headily fouling in the last seconds to snuff out OKC’s last-gasp comeback attempt — arguably his best on-court play of the last two weeks.
I think, for me, it might be an earlier moment. An exhausted Wembanyama leaning with his full body weight on veteran Bismack Biyombo’s shoulders, catching his breath and, perhaps, some inspiration. It was a couple of seconds of on-brand but still unexpected vulnerability. A reminder that despite Wembanyama’s superhuman size and skill, he’s still a mere mortal, albeit one whose real power is not caring about outside judgment.1
Anyway, I’m rambling. The San Antonio Spurs triumphed in one of the highest-level series we’ve ever seen. They advance to the Finals to face the New York Knicks, the hottest-shooting team in NBA history (literally!). We haven’t seen a team this young and this untested advance this far in the modern era. Given their youth, cache of draft picks, and general awesomeness, there’s no reason to think a healthy-ish Spurs team won’t be a fixture in late-spring basketball for the next half-decade.
Except one. Because the Thunder aren’t done yet.