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The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder are set to face in the Western Conference Finals.
The San Antonio Spurs are set to face the defending NBA champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, in the Western Conference Finals. The Spurs dominated the Thunder in the regular season, but NBA legend Carmelo Anthony doesn’t think that it matters in the playoffs.
Speaking to DJ Siddiqi of Online Casinos Canada, Anthony explained why he’s not picking the Spurs over the Thunder.
“Regular season doesn’t mean anything right now,” Anthony said. “It’s a different brand of basketball. I know people want to put one up against the other, but it’s a different brand of basketball. Nobody’s even thinking about regular season once you’re in the playoffs.”
Anthony argued that the Thunder are the defending champions, and they have proven experience. They are 8-0 in the playoffs, sweeping the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers in the first two rounds.
“OKC is a tough check all across the board,” Anthony said. “They play with a fast pace, they slow the game down, they pick on mismatches, they defend at a high level, they have multiple identities as a team, so you don’t know which identity you’re going to get on any given night. It’s a tough check.”
In terms of the regular season, the Spurs went 4-1 against the Thunder in five games. They won by an average margin of 11.8 points, while Oklahoma City’s lone win was by 21 points.
Speaking on NBA on Amazon Prime after their Game 6 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Victor Wembanyama had a message about facing the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The San Antonio Spurs superstar is not downplaying the Thunder in any way, but they are ready to take the fight to the defending NBA champions.
“We know it’s gonna be a whole different series,” Wembanyama said. “This is a team that knows how to play basketball. They know their stuff. Will watch all their games and do the scouting and try to execute over there in Game 1.”
Wembanyama will have more motivation heading into Game 1 after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won the NBA MVP over him and Nikola Jokic.
GettyShai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder is fouled on a layup attempt by Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs during the game at Frost Bank Center on December 23, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas.
Here is the full schedule for the Thunder-Spurs series, as reported by Nick Talbot of the San Antonio Express-News.
According to BetMGM, the Thunder are the favorite to win the series against the Spurs.
The Oklahoman’s Justin Martinez predicted a seven-game slugfest between the two teams, with the Thunder advancing to the 2026 NBA Finals.
Juan Paolo David Juan Paolo David is a sports journalist covering basketball for Heavy. He has a decade of experience writing about the NBA and WWE. He's currently based in the Philippines. More about Juan Paolo David
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