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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 13: Head coach Mitch Johnson of the San Antonio Spurs looks on in the second quarter of a semifinal game of the Emirates NBA Cup against the Oklahoma City Thunder at T-Mobile Arena on December 13, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Spurs defeated the Thunder 111-109. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

NBA fans await the treat that hopes to be the 2026 Western Conference finals. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder will be back in action to defend their NBA title. They’ll take on the rising San Antonio Spurs, who are making a conference finals appearance for the first time since 2017. 

The Thunder are a perfect 8-0 in the postseason while the Spurs have had some bumps in the road. This will be the first time since 2017 that a pair of 60-plus win teams will square off in the playoffs. 

But head coach Mitch Johnson is pumping the brakes before Game 1 in Oklahoma City, saying the Spurs will have to fight hard to merely put up a fight against the defending champs.

“I mean, they’re the defending champs,” said Johnson, who is in his first season as full time head coach. “They haven’t lost the game in the playoffs, so we’ll have to be at our best to make it competitive.”

Spurs Facing First Major Test — Are They Ready?

Even die-hard San Antonians can agree on one thing: playing the Portland Trail Blazers was one thing, playing the Minnesota Timberwolves was another, but playing the Oklahoma City Thunder is an entirely different animal.

Acknowledged guard Stephon Castle, who painted a 32-point, 11-rebound masterpiece to eliminate the Wolves in Game 6 on Friday: “It’s going to be a hard-fought series [against the Thunder], very physical, two teams with high aspirations. They’re playing really well right now. We’re playing really well right now. We’re in each other’s way of going to the finals, so I think it’ll be a good series.”

The Spurs are young, spry and buzzing with energy. 

But so are the Thunder.

The Spurs are tenacious defensively and versatile at multiple positions. 

But so are the Thunder.

The Spurs are hard to contain in transition and present matchup nightmares.

But the same gets said about the Thunder.

It’s true that San Antonio mirrors Oklahoma City in a lot of ways. But the Thunder remain the teacher, the formula that everyone is trying to emulate and ultimately dethrone. The Spurs remain the understudy, the up-and-coming version learning in real time.

Taking down the Thunder in a playoff setting will be enormously difficult and should perhaps be borderline unexpected of a team this early in its timeline.

Oklahoma City is a young, rapidly improving and a proven champion.

Johnson knows that. That’s why he made that comment. 

Thunder to Receive Bigger Boost with Return of Star

GettyJalen Williams reacts during a playoff game.

And by the way, the Thunder team the Spurs and the rest of the NBA is watching right now isn’t even at full form.

Yes, an 8-0 team yet to play at its top gear save for 1 ½ games to start the playoffs. 

Star swingman Jalen Williams, an All-Star and All-NBA selection a season ago, is expected to come back to start the series Monday.

“It’s good that I haven’t had to rush back from my hamstring stuff at all,” Williams said in a YouTube video published earlier this week. “I’m actually taking like extra days now than from what was originally planned because we were up 3-0 [over the Lakers], so there was no point in going into this series and possibly hurting myself before we play the Timberwolves or the Spurs. I’m about to go into another series healthy.”

Williams, 25, is one of the top two-way players in basketball with a shining three-level game. He can score with the best of them, alright — remember that 40-bomb in the NBA Finals last year? — but his defense can flip a game on its head within three possessions. 

The Thunder are yet to hit another gear. They are still 8-0. 

They’ll flex that fresh muscle in Game 1 on Monday.