Spurs Eliminate Thunder, Advance to NBA Finals

We will have a new NBA champion this year.

Victor Wembanyama scored 22 points and six other Spurs scored in double figures as San Antonio defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-103 on May 30th, eliminating last season’s NBA champs 4 games to 3 in the NBA Western Conference Finals. San Antonio trailed in the series 2-1, but then took three of the last four, including Game 7 on the road.

The Spurs are in the NBA Finals for the first time since the 2013-14 season; this is also their first playoff appearance since 2018-19. Last year, they were 34-48, coming off two consecutive 22-60 seasons. This is the seventh time the Spurs have been in the Finals; they have been NBA champions five of the previous six. Their last Finals appearance was in 2013-14, when they beat the Miami Heat in five games. San Antonio’s only Finals loss came the year before, when Miami won in seven games. Before that, the Spurs won the Finals in 1998-9, 2002-3, 2004-5, and 2006-7. The 1998-9 Spurs beat the New York Knicks to win the championship, and that’s who they’ll face again in this year’s Finals.

The Spurs will have home court advantage in the Finals, which begin on June 3rd. San Antonio was 32-8 at home this year during the regular season, and the two teams split their two game regular season series, with each team winning on the road. The Knicks also beat the Spurs to win the NBA Cup back in December in Las Vegas.