Player of the Night – Victor Wembanyama – May 24
Player of the Night – Victor Wembanyama – May 24, 2026
SAN ANTONIO — There were just a few seconds left before halftime when the ball made its way to Victor Wembanyama, who was roughly 90 feet from the rim. Unless he managed to make a full sprint in just three or so strides — not that it was beyond the capabilities of a 7-foot-5 freak of nature — there was virtually no chance for him to score.
So, just dribble out the clock and head to the locker room?
Or do something that defies the imagination?
This was too much distance and too little time. Well, actually that’s a defeatist way of thinking, and on this night, with the Spurs down 2-1 to Oklahoma City in the Western Conference Finals, defeat was the furthest thing from his mind.
Wemby often, and playfully, will engage in shooting contests in practice with his fellow San Antonio Spurs teammates, careful not to put a wager on any of them. But this wasn’t practice. This was Game 4, and while the Spurs were up nine points on the Thunder at that moment, Wembanyama wanted to show no mercy. Because that’s what fierce competitors do.
He did take those few dribbles and then pulled up at the mid-court logo. What happened next was stunning.
FROM LOOOONG DISTANCE 🏹
📺@NBAonNBC pic.twitter.com/2N456BWhTq
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) May 25, 2026
It’s not just that his shot went swish before the buzzer, it’s that his shot was a shot — not a chest heave, like most humans. This was no different than him pulling up from 20 feet, complete with proper form and release and fingertip control and the desired result.
“I was thinking ‘shoot to score.’ I wasn’t messing around,” he said.
Neither are the Spurs, evidently.
A best-of-3 series now
There’s a common thread running through Oklahoma City and San Antonio, and it’s not just Interstate 35. It is this:
Through four games of this playoff series, there’s the shared belief that either team can emerge as the winner, which, if nothing else, gives this conference final a decided advantage over that other conference final.
The Spurs and Thunder are now a best-of-3. They’ve each taken a punch, the latest a 21-point roundhouse delivered Sunday by the Spurs, and each won by wipeout and by a hair. They’ve celebrated on the other’s home court and their own. Most of all, and perhaps as expected, these two teams, both 60-game winners during the regular season, have given the Western Conference Finals a dramatic drip.
This series is a race. That other one in the East, where the Knicks are up 3-0 on the Cavaliers, seems like a wrap.
The West has what the East is missing: Big shots, clutch play, defensive stands and elevation by the stars. Not just one team, but both. That last sentence is the difference between Spurs-Thunder and Knicks-Cavs.
The beauty is that this series is guaranteed to last six games and could go seven. There’s also the flip side: Will the winning team be worn out and enter the NBA Finals licking wounds and gasping for a second breath?
The Spurs and Thunder would love for the chance to feel that disadvantaged, anyway.
As they creep toward the next tipoff, Tuesday in OKC (8:30 ET, NBC/Peacock), each team is grasping at momentum, because right now there is none.
It’s game by game at this point, although the Spurs gave themselves a confidence boost by winning with relative ease Sunday and dropping some positive signs in their favor.
“They played like their season was on the line and we didn’t,” said Thunder forward Chet Holmgren.
Their defense was punishing. They contested shots — both in the paint and on the perimeter — and were never threatened by anyone on OKC’s roster.
That includes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who the league record for consecutive 20-point games … and managed 19 on this night.
He had a hand in his face. He didn’t score with his typical efficiency. He had six baskets and four turnovers, both uncharacteristic for him, and anytime a team can hold the two-time MVP to that ratio, it usually works out well for them.
The Thunder couldn’t make shots from deep, partly because they didn’t always have clean looks. They missed 18 of their first 20 attempts.
Jared McCain, who torched the Spurs two nights earlier, had a miserable experience this time because the Spurs made him a bigger priority than the Philadelphia 76ers, who traded him at mid-season. McCain went 1-for-10 and empty from the 3-point line.
“Anytime we can turn defense into the offense, that’s when we’re at our best,” said Spurs coach Mitch Johnson.
‘The series is far from over’
Meanwhile, Wembanyama meant business from the tip. He tenaciously looked to score and set the tone. He was either determined or desperate or maybe both, a mixture that spelled doom for OKC.
“We need to start games like this,” he said.
Wembanyama had 22 of his 33 points at halftime. It’s what great players do. They send red-alert signals to their teammates and the players on the other bench. They sound alarms that awaken both sides.
“Our competitive response all year has been pretty good and he’s been at the forefront of that,” said Johnson. “His aggressiveness was a reflection of that.”
The Thunder were pushed on their heels once Wembanyama’s teammates heard the calling. OKC never led in the second half and only led in the game once, by a single point.
“They punched us in the face early,” said Gilgeous-Alexander.
This was the ninth meeting this season between the Spurs and Thunder and at this point they probably can name the birthdates of each player. Are there any more strategic counters remaining, any more secrets to hide, anything or anyone left to scout? Probably not.
“As the playoff series goes on, everybody knows the other team almost by heart,” said Wembanyama.
All this does is make the next two games highly anticipated, or three if we’re lucky. At some point, a player will become the difference maker, or maybe a play will flip the series in someone’s favor.
It’s that closely contested.
This series has seen a symbolic moment, at least. It actually happened twice, in a pair of games, by the same player — two shots from an almost identical distance.
It was Wembanyama’s deep and gutsy 3-pointer that forced a second overtime in the Spurs’ Game 1 win. And then his smooth half-courter just before halftime of Game 4. Until those two games, Wembanyama had never made shots from that deep in his career.
Those were long shots. But after four games of the Western Conference Finals, against the defending NBA champions, Wembanyama and the Spurs are anything but long shots.
This is now a best of three games, and the player most responsible for creating this drama might be the least surprised by what the Spurs accomplished Sunday — and what they might be capable of doing next.
“It wasn’t magic,” said Wembanyama. “We just did what we needed to do. The series is far from over. We have six more wins before we can rest.”
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA since 1985. You can e-mail him at spowell@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.
