By Jeje Gomez, J.R. Wilco | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2026-06-02 12:31:00
马刺做到了。在赛季初外界期望相对较低的情况下，他们一路杀入 NBA 总决赛，并在晋级过程中击败了卫冕冠军俄克拉荷马雷霆队。尽管赛前并不被看好，但凭借天赋、充分的准备和些许运气，他们现在将与纽约尼克斯队展开对决，力争夺得队史第六冠。
在 FanDuel 的赔率中，圣安东尼奥夺得拉里·奥布莱恩杯的看好度几乎达到了二比一。但在我们深入探讨总决赛对决之前，是时候回顾一下他们在西部决赛中取得的伟大胜利了。为此，J.R. 威尔科 (J.R. Wilco) 和杰杰·戈麦斯 (Jeje Gomez) 探讨了这轮对阵雷霆的系列赛意味着什么，并盘点了帮助马刺重返最高舞台的一些最关键、最令人难忘的经典回合。
J.R. 威尔科：总决赛，我的朋友。总决赛！我现在正在科罗拉多州度假，坐在门廊上，眺望着世界上我最喜欢的景色之一：圣胡安山脉边缘的一些丘陵地带，离烟囱石不远（那是北美最重要的考古天文学遗址之一，不过那是另一个话题了，以后再聊）。
在马刺拿到总决赛门票大约六个小时后，我们醒来，坐上车从奥斯汀赶往这里。身处这个我最喜欢的地方，让我对圣安东尼奥的成就产生了共鸣——他们克服了经验不足，在一位一年级主帅和一位 22 岁球队领袖的带领下，在客场抢七大战中掀翻了拥有 MVP 的卫冕冠军，并准备像 27 年前 22 岁的蒂姆·邓肯 (Tim Duncan) 那样去迎战尼克斯。
这一路走来真是一场奇妙的旅程。大约八个月前，维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 曾豪言圣安东尼奥将跳过附加赛，直接锁定西部第 6 种子，这在当时登上了新闻头条。对于一支自 2019 年以来就没打过季后赛的球队来说，这无疑是极高的期望。但坦白说，站在马刺在向拉里·奥布莱恩杯发起最后冲刺前所达到的高度，再回头看当年的“第 6 种子”，你甚至会产生一种恐高般的眩晕感！
今年你我之间有过太多关于对圣安东尼奥进攻感到不满的讨论，但我认为，正是教练组在防守端和进攻端做出的调整，不仅令人惊叹地打乱了雷霆的节奏，还让他们找到了可以得分的防守漏洞。
看看第 6 战的策略：让文班把哈滕 (Isaiah Hartenstein) 拉到三分线外，并通过战术配合削弱他的身体对抗优势。再对比第 7 战的设计：教练组重新启用了许多赛季中期的战术（这些战术自系列赛初期就被雷霆逼得无法施展），让维克托利用自己的牵制力强力顺下冲击篮筐，从而为外线投篮和二次进攻创造机会，充分利用了雷霆在轮转防守中的破绽。
5. 文班吸引所有防守注意力，凯尔登受益
凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson)
@ NBAonNBC pic.twitter.com/Wpy6J67RJ5
— San Antonio Spurs (@ spurs) May 27, 2026
这种战术上的精妙调整，我之前甚至不确定这支球队能否开发出来。考虑到执行这一战术的阵容是如此年轻，我不仅仅是赞赏，简直是要尽情庆祝了。你呢：在过去的七场比赛中，尤其是最后两场面临淘汰时赢下的比赛，最让你印象深刻的是什么？
耶稣·戈麦斯 (Jesus Gomez)：我记得以前，你的假期经常和球队的季后赛深远之旅重合。过去几年这不再是个问题，但很高兴看到这个传统又回来了，而且这个传统很可能会再延续至少十年。
在第 6 场和第 7 场比赛期间，我确实回想起了我们关于进攻的讨论。我认为总的来说，这轮系列赛证明了，当你拥有极其出色的天赋时，有时你并不需要过于复杂的战术配合。你提到了调整和策略的变化，米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 确实功不可没。但他做得最好的一点，可能就是把比赛交到了球员们的手中。
对战术画板（Xs and Os）的盲目崇拜（我自己也深陷其中）往往让人忽略了看球员单打得分是多么有趣，以及有时最好的执教仅仅是把球员放在一个舒服的位置去得分。当我们还在抱怨缺乏能提供多种选择的既定战术时，教练组可能在想，他们的球员只需要一个简单的横向掩护（cross-screen）或下掩护（pindown）就能解决问题，事实证明他们是对的。我不同意你关于这是“精妙战术”的看法，但有时候你确实不需要精妙，一味追求反而愚蠢。等我在总决赛期间又忍不住开始抱怨时，记得一定要提醒我今天说的这些话。
战术聊得够多了。最让我印象深刻的，尤其是最后两场比赛，是球队展现出的侵略性。倒不是说我以为他们会在大场面前退缩，但这毕竟是一轮漫长的系列赛，对手身体对抗极强。而且我们的替补席此前表现很糟糕。我一直担心我们会遇到某个能量感跟不上的时刻，但这种情况从未发生。我想这就是年轻球队的好处吧。
说到年轻，年轻后卫的表现有没有惊艳到你？斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 从前两场高失误的阴影中走了出来，表现得像个老将。也许我还在为第 7 战的胜利而兴奋，但迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 在做出球队所需的关键战术选择时，看起来颇有马努（吉诺比利）的风范。我不是说我们遇到了沙巴兹·穆罕默德 (Shabazz Muhammad) 那样的情况，但在我看来，他们的表现完全超出了我们对这个年龄段球员的预期。
J.R.：只要你一开抱怨，我保证立刻拿这段对话提醒你。至于战术方面，我们可以保留各自的意见（反正也不是第一次了）。
球队展现出了顶级的侵略性，我同意这极其令人震撼。当我看到一支极具侵略性的球队时，我会想到保持这种打法所需的自信。这支球队能如此笃定，是整个俱乐部的功劳；而他们在如此年轻的时候就拥有这份自信，这或许是源于……基因？初生牛犊不怕虎的莽撞？他们极具侵略性的自信没有变成无法兑现的空头支票，这要么归功于球队的凝聚力，要么归功于联盟历史上前所未有的超级好运。又或者，这只是因为他们拥有 NBA 唯一的“外星人”。
我对年轻后卫们的表现也是赞不绝口。卡斯尔就像一匹未被驯服的野马，没有他跃不过去的坎。虽然他的坚韧和意志毋庸置疑，但他的决策能力有时确实容易让人产生质疑。然而，随着他阅读防守的能力逐渐跟上他的拼劲，他在压力下展现出了超乎寻常的冷静，这支撑着他在实战中不断学习。我感到震惊的是，在西部决赛如此高强度的环境下，他竟然能一边交学费，一边打出如此高的水平。对他，我怎么夸都不为过。
但说到哈珀，我都担心自己词穷了。天呐，怎么会有新秀能优秀到这种地步？！他按自己的节奏打球，这很棒，但有时他甚至能把自己的节奏强加给比赛。他可只是个新秀啊！他的突破有着十年老将般的沉稳，他顶着卢·多特 (Lu Dort) 一路突到篮下，像甩开特雷·杨 (Trae Young) 那样轻松摆脱他，然后稳稳将球放进篮筐。他只是个新秀！他拥有自鲍里斯·迪奥 (Boris Diaw) 的“梦幻华尔兹”（Cream Shake）以来马刺球员中最好的低位脚步——你懂的，就是鲍里斯在距离篮筐 18 英尺的地方背身单打，连续做四五个低位动作，最后不知怎的就到了距离篮筐 3 英尺的地方把球打进。迪伦也能做到这一点，而且（跟我一起说）他只是个新秀！我甚至还没提到他那令人惊叹的防守，这防守让 YouTube 上最优秀的分析师之一都赞叹不已。
但对我来说，最了不起的一点是，他能像马努·吉诺比利 (Manu Ginóbili) 那样，频繁地在正确的时间出现在正确的位置，做出正确的选择，从而将球队从失败的边缘拉回来。在比赛期间，我一直在和加里·关 (Gary Quan) 发短信，他几乎和我们一样迷恋马努。在第三节，我们还在感叹迪伦打得有多好，他的球风看起来是多么超越年龄。我告诉他，这让我想起了 2003 年季后赛早期的一个系列赛，吉诺比利在底线抢下的那个拯救马刺的篮板。结果不到 15 分钟后，哈珀不仅抢到了一个，而是连续抢到两个底线篮板，并将其中一个补篮得手。他现在是一块无价之宝，而且他只会变得更好。
4. 迪伦·哈珀的关键前场篮板
对于这轮在未来几年很可能反复上演的西决对决，你最大的收获是什么？
杰杰：现在我真的开始担心了，因为我们有太多人在哈珀身上看到了马努的影子。我们是不是在给他捧杀？因为历史上几乎没有多少球员能达到马努的高度。等等，现在是庆祝的时候。以后有的是时间去担心这些，所以先把它放在一边吧。
我不知道对于雷霆我有什么特别深刻的总结，因为对于一支缺席了二号球星长达六场比赛的球队，实在很难评判太多，但我对整个联盟倒是有几点感悟。第一，在当今的 NBA，争冠窗口期并没有人们想象的那么长，那些“谁能阻止这支球队？”的言论应该少说为妙。雷霆的卫冕一度看起来不可阻挡，但马刺的崛起和一些糟糕的伤病运势让这一切戛然而止。因此，当我看到圣安东尼奥的年轻核心在可预见的未来应该能让球队保持西部第一、或者最差也是西部第二的位置时，我依然保持谨慎并活在当下。在我看来，这就是他们夺冠的最好机会。你绝不会从我嘴里听到任何“输了也不亏”之类的话。
第二，我想回到赛季前的展望，并重申拥有极高期望是多么有趣的一件事。当时，我们大多数人认为马刺只要能打进季后赛就足够了，但随着赛季的进行，显而易见他们比我预期的要好得多，我也就越发关注并渴望他们的成功。我不怨那些说他们“提前完成重建”并试图降低期望值的人，毕竟这只是一支教练经验不足、管理层也没有全力梭哈的年轻球队。但我个人宁愿因为高估了一支球队而心碎，也不愿因为他们超水平发挥而感到意外之喜。虽然我之前预测雷霆会赢，但我其实早就相信这支马刺是真正的争争冠热门。
最后，我们必须谈谈那个显而易见的核心人物（双关语，指文班亚马）。很惊讶我们聊到这里才开始赞美文班亚马，尤其是他的防守。他面对的是鲁迪·戈贝尔 (Rudy Gobert) 和切特·霍姆格伦 (Chet Holmgren)，这两人被广泛认为是仅次于文班的两位最佳防守球员，但他们的防守影响力完全无法与“外星人”相提并论。我们目前所见证的一切堪称奇迹。在防守端重兵囤积在 SGA（谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大）活动的一侧是明智的，对他进行夹击也是如此（至少在一段时间内有效），但文班亚马才是雷霆无法像平时那样轻松得分的根本原因。
更不公平的是，他不仅防守无敌，看起来还是一位极具领袖气质的领袖，并且正在成长为顶级的进攻发起者。一个身高 7 英尺 5 英寸的中锋，怎么能在抢七大战中客串控球后卫，还打得有声有色？我以为他已经做不出任何能让我感到惊讶的事了，但当文班在突破中面对协防、精准找到空位队友的那一刻，我再次被震撼了。
3. “控卫文班”妙传空位队友
穿针引线
— San Antonio Spurs (@ spurs) May 31, 2026
但你呢？你对这轮系列赛的对决有什么主要的感悟吗？还有什么我们没讨论到、但你认为值得一提的事吗？
J.R.：我想我的第一个感悟是呼应扎克·洛维 (Zach Lowe) 的观点：多年以后，人们记住这轮系列赛的方式，将是因为惊心动魄的第 1 战和精彩绝伦的第 7 战。至于第 2 到第 6 战，人们看着技术统计表只会耸耸肩。我的意思是，15 年后，某个现在刚上幼儿园的 20 岁 YouTube 博主，很可能会做一期视频来唱衰这轮系列赛。他会大肆宣扬，说你不能把 2026 年的西部决赛称为 NBA 历史上最伟大的系列赛之一，因为七场比赛里有五场几乎都是大胜。这没关系。我完全理解那些认为这轮系列赛没有人们说的那么伟大的人，因为他们没有亲身经历过。他们不会明白过去三年雷霆是多么恐怖，不会明白每个人都认为雷霆是“所有球队都在追赶的目标”，也不会明白能有人掀翻他们是多么了不起的一件事。
我的第二个感悟可能有点奇怪，但我必须公开承认，我真的很同情切特·霍姆格伦。当然，我们是篮球迷，但我们首先是人，意识到切特也是一个普通人是很重要的。在聚光灯下遭遇如此惨痛的失败，我不会希望这种事发生在任何人身上。但这非常有画面感，你不得不为他感到难过。首先，他并不想成为文班的靶子。当年文班没有拿到奖杯，而他拿到了，这也不是他的错。
其次，我们都经历过失败。失败比成功更常见。事实上，切特比维克托更容易让普通人产生共鸣，因为我们大多数人都不是世界上在某个公开领域最顶尖的人。相反，你想实现某个目标却在半路被击倒，才是更常有的事。第三，我一直怀疑文班已经成了他的心魔，但直到第 6 战第三节结束前我才确信这一点。在周四的那场比赛中，维克托在第三节结束时封盖了霍姆格伦的压哨投篮。
2. 文班彻底击碎切特的信心
被盖之后，切特只是坐在地板上，一副“好吧，这就是我的宿命”的表情，而不是像大多数运动员那样立刻弹起来。我挺同情这家伙的，只要这不会影响到马刺未来的夺冠，我希望他能重新找回自信。
第三个感悟：马刺的学习速度之快，简直无法用言语来衡量，这难道不不可思议吗？虽然圣安东尼奥一直有种说法，认为经验并不重要，但这只是对外界用“缺乏经验”来否定马刺夺冠可能性的回应。好吧，现在他们已经是西部冠军了，这是不争的事实。所以我们没必要假装经验不重要，它绝对重要。只是这支球队，无论是教练组还是球员的构建，其在实战中学习（即积累经验）的速度，比我支持过的任何其他球队都要快。这是我从未见过的奇景，不过这也说得通，因为上一次有比这更年轻的球队杀入总决赛，还要追溯到 1977 年！
第四个感悟是那个我永远会称之为“科内特式干扰”（Kornet Contest）的回合。在我心中，这个词不再仅仅指他用来干扰三分投篮的招牌动作，而是指他那记拒绝了哈滕的追身大帽，这记盖帽保住了领先优势，也可能保住了整场比赛的胜利。
1. 卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 大帽哈滕
说实话，脑子里还在回放卢克的那个盖帽呢
pic.twitter.com/svxRO96CRN
— San Antonio Spurs (@ spurs) May 31, 2026
这一球太令人震撼了，不仅是因为他及时赶到，还因为他没有盲目去盖扣篮。他只是高举双手干扰，让以赛亚（哈尔滕施泰因）把球直接送到了他的手上。真是太不可思议了！自从科内特来到圣安东尼奥，我就一直很喜欢他。许多人曾因为他“不是维克托·文班亚马”而对他百般挑剔，而现在，这个几乎锁定系列赛胜局的本场最佳防守竟然是由他完成的，这让我兴奋不已。在我的记忆中，这已经是本赛季他第二次用盖帽拯救比赛了。顺便提一句，他还通过写博客成功阻止了亚特兰大老鹰队做出一个糟糕的营销推广决定。继续加油，卢克。在我心里，你棒极了。
最后的感悟：有人会反对把联合 MVP 颁给那只柯基犬吗？
杰杰：我绝对不反对！
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：5 Plays That Explain How The Spurs Reached The Finals
5 Plays That Explain How The Spurs Reached The Finals
The Spurs did it. After starting the season with relatively low expectations, they made the NBA Finals, taking down the reigning champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, in the process. The odds were against them, but with talent, preparation, and some luck, they will now battle the New York Knicks, hoping to win their sixth title.
San Antonio is favored almost two-to-one in FanDuel to take home the Larry O’Brien trophy, but before we get into the Finals matchup, it’s time to take a look at the huge win in the Conference Finals. To do that, J.R. Wilco and Jeje Gomez discuss what the series against the Thunder meant and highlight some of the biggest and most memorable plays that got the Spurs back to the biggest stage.
J.R. Wilco: The Finals, my friend. The Finals! I’m on vacation in Colorado at the moment, sitting out on a porch and looking out at one of my favorite views in the world: some of the foothills at the edge of the San Juan Mountains, not too far from Chimney Rock (one of the most significant archaeoastronomical sites in North America, but that’s a topic for another time).
About six hours after the Spurs punched their ticket to the Finals, we woke up to get in the car to come up here from Austin. Being here in one of my favorite places on the planet resonates with San Antonio’s achievement of getting past OKC by climbing past the lack of experience with a first year coach and a 22 year old team leader, taking on the reigning champs (complete with MVP) in a seventh game on the road and getting ready to play the Knicks just like a 22 year old Tim Duncan did 27 years ago.
What a trip it was to get there, since about eight months ago Victor Wembanyama created a headline by stating his expectation that San Antonio would skip the play-in and snag the 6th seed in the west. High expectations for a team that hadn’t seen the postseason since 2019, but you could honestly get vertigo from peeking down at the 6 seed from the lookout point the Spurs have reached on their climb prior to their last ascent to the peak of the Larry O!
You and I have had so many conversations this year around the topic of our discontent with San Antonio’s offense, but I could argue that it was the adjustments that the coaching staff implemented, not only on defense but on offense, that weren’t just impressive in keeping the Thunder off balance but allowed them to find the cracks through which they could score.
Just consider the Game 6 approach of having Wemby drag iHart out to the three-point line and putting him in actions that neutralized his physicality. Then compare that to the Game 7 design, which went back to so many plays from mid-season (that OKC had forced the Spurs offense away from since early in the series) with Victor using his gravity in hard rolling to rim to set up deep shooting and secondary offense to take advantage of a Thunder defense in rotation.
5. Wemby draws all the attention, and KJ benefits
KELDON JOHNSON
— San Antonio Spurs (@ spurs) May 27, 2026
It’s the kind of sophisticated approach that I wasn’t sure the team could develop, and when I consider the youth of the squad that executed it, I feel myself going beyond mere acknowledgement into full-on celebration. How about you: what stood out from the last seven games — particularly the last two they won while facing elimination?
**Jesus Gomez:**I remember back in the day when your vacations used to routinely overlap with some deep playoff runs. That wasn’t an issue in the last few years, but it’s great to see the return of a tradition that will likely continue for a decade, at least.
I did think back to our discussions about the offense during Game 6 and Game 7, and I think this series, in general, showcased that sometimes, you don’t need overly complex sets when you have incredible talent. You mentioned the adjustments and the shifting strategies, and Mitch Johnson does deserve credit for that. But the best thing he might have done was put the game in the hands of the players.
The fetishisation of Xs and Os, of which I’m definitely guilty, often overshadows how fun it is to see a player just get a bucket and how sometimes the best coaching consists of simply putting that player in a good position to do so. While we were bemoaning the lack of set plays that offered multiple options, the staff was probably thinking that their guys would be fine with just a simple cross-screen or pindown, and they were proven right. I disagree with you on it being a sophisticated approach, but sometimes you don’t need sophistication, and insisting upon it is foolish. Make sure to remind me of that when I inevitably start complaining again during the Finals.
Enough about strategy. What impressed me the most about the last two games, in particular, was the aggressiveness the team showed. It’s not that I was expecting them to shy away from the moment, but it was a long series against a physical opponent. The bench had been bad. I kept fearing we’d run into a moment in which they just couldn’t keep up with the energy level, but it never happened. I guess that’s the good thing about young teams.
And speaking of youth, how impressed were you with the young guards? Castle bounced back from two high-turnover games like a veteran, and maybe I’m still riding the high from Game 7, but Dylan Harper looked Manuesque in the way he made the play the team needed. I’m not saying we have a Shabazz Muhammad situation in our hands, but they don’t act like we normally expect guys their age to act to me.
J.R.: You can count on me to remind you of this conversation the moment you start griping again, and we can agree to disagree (won’t be the first time) about the strategy piece.
The team showed elite aggression, and I agree that it was extremely impressive. When I see an aggressive team, I think about the confidence that’s required to maintain that kind of approach. That this team is as sure of themselves as they are is a credit to the whole organization; that they’re this confident while being so young is the product of … genetics? The foolhardiness of youth? That their aggressive confidence hasn’t written checks their talent and preparation couldn’t cash is either a function of the team’s cohesiveness or of dumb luck the degree to which this league has never seen. Or it could just mean that they have the NBA’s only alien playing for them.
And I’m beyond impressed with the young guards. Castle is an untamed bronco that’s never seen a creek bed he couldn’t jump across. While his toughness and his will are unquestionable, it’s his decision-making that’s easy to sometimes second-guess. But as his ability to read defenses catches up to his grit, he’s displayed a level of calm under pressure that’s sustaining him in the midst of his education. I’m stunned that he’s able to play at such a high level while undergoing on-the-job training in an environment as intense as the WCF. I can’t say enough good things about him.
But when it comes to Harper, I’m concerned about my ability to capture it all in words. It’s like, how can any rookie be so good?! He plays at his own pace, which is great, but he also sometimes enforces his pace on the action. As a rookie. He drives with the assurance of a 10-year veteran, and he took Lu Dort all the way to the basket, shrugging him off like he was Trae Young before simply laying the ball in the hoop. As a rookie! He’s got the best post moves of any Spur since Boris Diaw’s Cream Shake, you know the one where Boris would start with his back to the basket 18 feet from the rim and make four or five post moves and somehow end up 3 feet from the rim? Dylan does that too, as (say it with me) a rookie! And I haven’t even discussed his remarkable defense that has one of the best analysts on YouTube in awe.
But the biggest thing for me is the way he has been able to do something that no one but Manu Ginóbili did as regularly for the Spurs: repeatedly be in the right place at the right time to make the right play to turn a game from defeat to victory. During the game, I was texting with Gary Quan, who almost has as big a crush on Manu as you and I do. During the third quarter, we were remarking about how well Dylan was playing and how far beyond his years his game looked. I told him I was reminded of an early postseason series in 2003 and a rebound that Ginóbili made on the baseline that saved the game for the Spurs. Not 15 minutes later, Harper made not one but two separate baseline rebounds and put one of them back in for two points. He’s a gem beyond value right now and he’s only going to get better.
4. Dylan Harper’s huge offensive rebound
What’s your main takeaway from a WCF that seems prepped to be a recurring matchup for years to come?
Jeje: Now I’m officially concerned because too many of us see some Manu in Harper. Are we setting him up to fail, because few players have ever been as good as Manu? Wait, this is a time for celebration. There will be years to worry about that, so I’ll leave it alone for now.
I don’t know if I have a main takeaway involving OKC, because it’s hard to say much about a team missing their second-best player for six games, but I have a few about the league. The first one is that title windows are not as long as people think in today’s NBA, and “who can stop this team?” takes should be used more sparingly. A Thunder repeat seemed inevitable at one point and the ascension of the Spurs and some bad injury luck stopped that in its tracks. So, as I watch a San Antonio core that should keep the franchise as the best in the West or, at worst, the second-best team in the conference for the foreseeable future, I still remain cautious and in the moment. As far as I’m concerned, this is their title chance. You will not hear any “playing with house money” comments from me.
Second, I’ll go back to the season preview and reiterate how much fun it is to have great expectations. Back then, a playoff berth was all most of us thought the Spurs should get, but as the season progressed and it was clear they were much better than I estimated, the more invested I became in their success. I don’t begrudge the “ahead of schedule” crowd for trying to lower the stakes for a young team with an inexperienced coach and a front office that didn’t go all in, but I personally would rather get my heart broken by a team I overrate than be pleasantly surprised by overachievement. And while I picked the Thunder to win, I have believed for a while that this team was a true contender.
Finally, we have to address the giraffe in the room. It’s surprising we’ve gotten this far without gushing about Wembanyama, and particularly his defense. He faced Rudy Gobert and Chet Holmgren, widely considered the two best defenders behind Wemby, and their impact didn’t come close to matching The Alien’s. What we’ve seen so far feels special. Overloading the side SGA operated in was smart, as was trapping him, at least for a while, but Wembanyama is the reason the Thunder couldn’t score like they normally do.
The fact that he appears to be a fantastic leader and a burgeoning elite offensive player on top of it seems almost unfair. How can a 7’5 center start Game 7 as the point guard and make it work? I didn’t think he could do anything that would surprise me anymore, but the moment Wemby faced help defense on a drive and found the open man did the trick.
3. Point Wemby finds the open man
threadin’ the needle
— San Antonio Spurs (@ spurs) May 31, 2026
But how about you? Did you have any major takeaways about the matchup in particular? And is there anything we haven’t discussed that you think deserves at least a mention?
J.R.:I guess my first takeaway is to echo what I heard Zach Lowe say: the way this series will be remembered years from now is going to be due to the phenomenal Game 1 and the excellent Game 7. People will be looking at the box scores for games two through six and shrugging their shoulders. I mean, the ground is largely prepped for a takedown of the series in 15 years by some 20-year-old YouTuber who’s right how jist happy to have graduated from kindergarten. He’ll be ranting about how you can’t call the 2026 Western Conference finals one of the great series in NBA history because five of the seven games were practically blowouts. And that’s fine. I have zero problems with anyone who thinks this series shouldn’t mean as much as people say it did because if they haven’t lived through it. They won’t realize how deadly the Thunder were for the last three years and how everyone assumed that they would be “the team that everyone’s aiming for“ and how big a deal it was that anyone was able to upset them.
My second takeaway is an odd one, but I have to go on record to say I really feel for Chet Holmgren. We are basketball fans, sure, but we are people first and it’s good to realize that Chet is a person. Falling short in the public eye to the extent he did is not something I would wish on anyone. It’s so human, though, and you’ve got to feel for him. First, he didn’t ask to be in Wemby’s sights. It’s not his fault he was given the trophy all those years ago when Wemby wasn’t.
Second, we’ve all been there. Failure is more common than success. In fact, Chet is way more relatable than Victor because most of us aren’t the best in the world at something that happens publicly. And it’s way more frequent that you want to accomplish something and get sat down in the middle of it. Third, I’ve suspected for a while that Wemby was in his head, but I wasn’t sure until the end of the third quarter of Game 6. That’s the play where Vic blocked Holmgren’s buzzer-beating attempt on Thursday.
2. Wemby demoralizes Chet
Chet just sat on the floor afterwards like “yup, that’s what happens to me” instead of popping up as most athletes do. I feel for the guy, and as long as it doesn’t cost the Spurs a title in the future, I’d like for him to regain his mojo.
Third Takeaway: Isn’t it ridiculous that it’s practically impossible to quantify just how quickly the Spurs have learned? As much as it’s been a talking point in San Antonio that experience isn’t necessary, that’s just a reaction to the fact that people were using the lack of experience to disqualify the Spurs from being able to go all the way. Well, here they are as the champs of the West. There’s no disputing that. So we don’t need to pretend that experience doesn’t matter, because it absolutely does. It’s just that this team, as it’s constructed with its coaching staff and players, can learn on the fly (i.e. accumulate experience) faster than any other team I’ve ever rooted for. This is the kind of thing I’ve never seen before, which I guess makes sense because the last time a younger team made it to the finals was 1977!
Takeaway number four is the play that I will always call the Kornet Contest. That moniker is no longer in my mind as something that he does to throw off three-point shooters. It’s the chase-down block that turned away Hartenstein, preserved the lead, and probably the game.
1. Luke Kornet blocks Hartenstein
still thinking about that Luke block tbh
— San Antonio Spurs (@ spurs) May 31, 2026
It’s such an impressive play that he got there in time, but also because he didn’t try to block the dunk. He just contested and let Isaiah push the ball right into his hand. Such an amazing play! I’ve loved Kornet ever since he came to San Antonio, and I can’t be more excited that the play of the game that practically clinched the series was made by the guy so many were ragging on for essentially not being Victor Wembanyama. By my account, that’s the second game this season he’s saved with a block, and I might as well add that he blocked the Atlanta Hawks from making a bad decision with that promotion they were going to do until he wrote a blog post. Keep up the good work, Luke. You’re all right in my book.
Final takeaway: Would anyone object to giving a Co-MVP award to the Corgi?
Jeje: Not me!
By Jeje Gomez, J.R. Wilco, via Pounding The Rock