Stephen A. Smith wonders if Thunder figured out Victor Wembanyama in Game 3

The San Antonio Spurs lost a tough Game 3 to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. San Antonio is now down in the NBA’s Western Conference Finals, 2-1. ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith thinks the Thunder might have a good strategy to stop Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama.

“The physicality that Oklahoma City was throwing in Wemby’s direction, sort of derailed him to some degree,” Smith said on ESPN after Oklahoma City’s Game 3 victory.

"Everywhere you turn, no matter what it is, they have something to answer whatever challenge that you throw in their direction."@stephenasmith knows the Thunder have what it takes to go back-to-back pic.twitter.com/HfaqkymxRC

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 23, 2026

Smith applauded Oklahoma City’s ability to stay poised and adapt in real time.

“Everywhere you turn, no matter what it is, they have something to answer whatever challenge that you throw in their direction,” Smith said.

After a 15-0 run to start the game for the Spurs, Oklahoma City bounced back. The Thunder relied on the defense to keep them in the game, and that strategy worked.

“Other than the first 15 points, our defense was really tight,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said, per the Associated Press. “We got back, settled down into the halfcourt. Our offense had something to do with that. We ran good offense tonight, despite the fact that they were amped up and ready to go, the Spurs were. It’s a discipline series. We did that. We couldn’t be reckless against them, they are too good with the ball, too well coached, too talented. So you’ve got to be able to do it with discipline. I thought we really were disciplined tonight.”

Wembanyama finished Game 3 with 26 points, which is certainly nothing to sneeze at. San Antonio’s big man though struggled from the field to start.

“It’s my first playoffs,” Wembanyama said. “It’s the first playoffs for many of us. Of course, there was going to be hard trials. It’s to be expected, but now we’re going to see what we’re made of.”

Game 4 of the Thunder-Spurs series is Sunday night in San Antonio.

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