After going 8-0 and sweeping the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Lakers in the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Oklahoma City Thunder hit a wall in the Western Conference Finals; specifically, a 7’5″ wall named Victor “Wemby” Wembanyama.
Despite barely edging out the Spurs for the top seed in the Western Conference, the Thunder had a 1-4 record against San Antonio during the regular season. Sometimes a team just has your number and you hope you don’t run up against them in the playoffs — and if you do, that you’ll figure something out by then.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen a player that will fundamentally change the way basketball is played. I’m not just talking about players like Nikola Jokic who are causing teams to adjust; I’m talking about players like Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson (aka “the Splash Brothers”) who forced every single team in the NBA to adjust how they played defense by putting two of the best three-point shooters in modern history on the court at the same time. No one had seen an office like that before when it debuted in 2011 and the result was Golden State Warrior championships in 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2022.
At 7’5″ you would expect Wemby to play like a center, but he doesn’t. He plays like a guard. In game one of the series against the Thunder, he scored 41 points and had 24 rebounds, but in games five he hit five three-pointers. The guy can score for three feet beyond the arc and often gets his own rebounds when in the paint. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player quite like him before. The guy has a vertical reach of 9’7″, just five inches shy of the rim.
The Thunder has no shortage in height with Isaiah Hartenstein (7’0″) and Chet Holmgren (7’1″) on the court, a look that confuses a lot of defenses, but neither of them were able to stop Wemby. Hartenstein found some success by grabbing, banging, and occasionally fouling Wemby in the paint, convincing him to step back and score from outside the paint. Holmgren, I’m convinced, got it in his head that he simply could not guard Wemby.
Playoff matchups are like chess matches with each team adjusting and changing strategies between games. The Spurs began the series by double teaming the league’s MVP, Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, which only caused the Thunder’s deep bench to step up and swarm the Spurs. As the series went on, their strategy changed. In game seven, the Spurs pretty much played SGA one-on-one which allowed him to play his game, and he did, but taking away opportunities from the bench. The result was a whopping 35 points by SGA with barely double digits by his teammates and a mind-boggling poor performance from Holmgren who only took two shots the entire game and missing one.
I don’t think the Thunder lost game seven during game seven. I think they lost in in game six, in which the Spurs pummeled the Thunder, leading by more than 30 points in a blow out game and, I think, convincing the Thunder they simply couldn’t beat them. The only time in the series the Thunder had a chance was when Wemby had bad or unproductive nights.
By the time a team reaches the playoffs, it’s too late to change their identity. The Thunder has consistently won games by scoring off turnovers, hitting 3s, and of course SGA’s ability not just to score but to draw fouls while driving. Despite SGA’s scoring, nothing else seemed to work. It bears mentioning that the Thunder’s second best player, Jalen Williams (J-Dub) say out due to injuries as did Ajay Mitchell, his backup. With a completely healthy team I think the Thunder had a chance in game seven. With two major players on the bench and starters like Holmgren taking a total of two shots, the game was over before it started.
As the game clock counted down and it was obvious we had been bested, NBA cameras panned up into the stands hoping to see fans making their way to the exit early and instead found every seat filled until the end. During the final posession, chants of “O-K-C, O-K-C!” could be heard throughout the arena. Of course there was disappointment after the game, but there’s a reason our arena is one of the loudest in the country. Fans like up, win or lose, to greet the team at the airport when they return from away games. Oklahoma City has fully embraced the Thunder. Everyone is proud of how far they made it and are already looking forward to next year’s season. Thunder up!
Dedicated to Charles “Dustbury” Hill and Howard Carey who are Thundering Up somewhere else.