The Western Conference Finals begin Monday, and the Oklahoma City Thunder enter them as defending champions with a target on their backs. Game 1 against the San Antonio Spurs is scheduled for 8:30 ET in Oklahoma City on NBC and Peacock.
Oklahoma City won an NBA-best 64 games in the regular season and lost only 18, but four of those defeats came against San Antonio. That gives the Spurs a rare measure of confidence against a team many are already discussing as a potential dynasty.
The Thunder have earned that status with results as much as reputation. Mark Daigneault was named Coach of the Year in 2023-24, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won Kia MVP in 2024-25, and this season he and Victor Wembanyama are again among the league’s MVP candidates. Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren finished first and second in Kia Defensive Player of the Year voting, a sign of how much length and rim protection will shape this series.
Oklahoma City has also looked built for long series. Its starters have posted a plus-11.3 points per 100 possessions net rating in the playoffs, while the reserves are at plus-7.8. The Thunder have used 10 players for at least 10 minutes per game in the playoffs without Jalen Williams, who has missed the past six games with a hamstring injury.
That depth has produced scoring from nearly everywhere. Nine Thunder players are averaging at least 6.5 points per game in the playoffs. Gilgeous-Alexander is at 29.1 points and 7.1 assists per game. Holmgren is averaging 18.6 points and 9.1 rebounds. Ajay Mitchell has added 18.8 points, 4.9 assists and 4.0 rebounds. Isaiah Hartenstein is contributing 9.9 points and 8.8 rebounds while shooting 75.6%.
The perimeter numbers may matter just as much. Jared McCain and Cason Wallace are shooting better than 46% from 3-point range, and Mitchell, Holmgren, Lu Dort, Alex Caruso, Isaiah Joe and Jaylin Williams are all shooting at least 36% from deep. Those marks help explain why Oklahoma City has already overwhelmed the Phoenix Suns in the first round and the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals.
The friction in this series is clear. The Thunder have spent the season looking like a team that can win with different lineups, different scorers and different looks. The Spurs, meanwhile, are the only opponent in this field that beat them four times in the regular season, and they will try to turn that into a blueprint over the next week.
For Oklahoma City, Monday is not just another playoff game. It is the first test of whether a champion with a 10-deep rotation and two headline stars can keep moving toward the kind of run that changes how a franchise is talked about for years.
