Why Thunder vs. Spurs is unlike any NBA playoff series since 1998

The Western Conference Finals are set, as the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs will be facing off in a highly anticipated series. Both teams were at the top of their game during the regular season, with the Thunder winning 64 games, while the Spurs won 62 games. This makes for something that has happened since 1998 between the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz, where two 62-win teams face off in a playoff series. 

When these two teams faced off in the regular season, it was the Spurs who came out on top, beating them four out of five times.

As far as the postseason, the Thunder have completely dominated their two opponents and are 8-0. As for the Spurs, they’ve also been quite dominant in the postseason, and it seems like they’re getting better after every game. Though the Spurs took care of business against the Thunder in the regular season, there’s no doubt that the postseason is a totally different game.

The Thunder are still missing Jalen Williams as he recovers from a hamstring injury, and there still isn’t a timeline on when he’ll return.

“Progressing. Same stuff. I’m not going to give you the blow-by-blow on the details,” Mark Daigneault said. “But he continues to make progress, and is doing a great job.”

With Williams sidelined, other players have had to step up alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Ajay Mitchell has made a name for himself this postseason, and he’ll have to continue to do so if the Thunder wants to advance to the NBA Finals once again.

As for the Spurs, they’ve been fairly healthy this postseason. They’ve gotten good games from an array of players, and you never know whose night it’s going to be. In the end, the team will only go as far as Victor Wembanyama takes them.

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