One might think that NBC wouldn’t be all that thrilled with the fact that their first NBA finals coverage in more than two decades was featuring two of the smallest DMAs in the league. But when you’ve got the kind of talent that was on display last night a fact like that is purely trivial. BLEACHER REPORT’s Andrew Peters was somewhat muted in the recap he dropped late last night:
For most of the regular season, a meeting between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals seemed inevitable. The first clash between the two teams on Monday lived up to the hype.
The Spurs beat the Thunder 122-115 in Game 1 after a double-overtime thriller that included a number of moments that will be remembered for years to come. What will be remembered most of all is the performance of Victor Wembanyama, who reminded fans once again why he’s been designated as the next all-time great. The 22-year-old, who is playing in his first playoffs, posted 41 points and 24 rebounds, becoming the first player since 1993 to have 35-plus points and 20-plus rebounds. Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was named MVP on Sunday, struggled for most of the night, but finished with 24 points and 12 assists. That wasn’t enough to beat fellow MVP candidate Wembanyama and the Spurs.
With all due respect to Peters, a performance like that deserved far more effusive praise. Fortunately, THJE ATHLETIC’s Chris Branch was able to provide it via the PULSE newsletter that hit my inbox as this musing was being composed:
Nothing said about Victor Wembanyama today will qualify as hyperbole. That’s how good he was in San Antonio’s 122-115 double-overtime win in Oklahoma City, which probably qualifies as one of the best NBA playoff games of the last decade.
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Just consider the following two plays that happened after the fourth quarter: |
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That’s a 7-foot-4 player pulling up from Steph Curry range, his team down 3, to tie it and ultimately force another overtime. Is that allowed? We can have humans do this, and we’re all OK with it?
Here’s Wemby a few minutes later, being 7-foot-4 around the rim to ice the win: |
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One day I’ll stop being amazed by this, but it won’t be soon. |
Honestly, I’m speechless myself.
Let’s remember this was the FiRST playoff loss for the Thunder, and it took this sort of effort for it to go down. So please don’t immediately write them off despite this effort. Let’s also not forget that Wemby has already missed playoff time and is coming off the most minutes he has ever played in an NBA game.
On the other hand, Wemby seemed to be reignited by the reinforced message that SGA displayed when he received the Most Valuable Player award the night before. As OKCTHUNDERWIRE’s Clemente Almanza reported Sunday night:
Someone told me a stat. It’s been four MVPs in the last 12 years to go through this building. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. There’s a reason why you have success when you come through this program and this facility and this city. Everything I just mentioned — from the fans, the love they give to the ownership, the front office making things easy, making sure we’re getting our work in, the coaches playing the right brand of basketball and holding the right things accountable. The way things are in this organization, this city, it breeds success.
I’m pretty sure Wemby is observant enough to know thay there are five times more the number of Lawrence O’Brien trophies on display in the Spurs’ headquarters than are being exhbited in OKC. (sorry, Thunder Nation, that Seattle title doesn’t count). And the last time the Spurs won one he wasn’t even six feet tall–though at age 10 he still likely stood out in his lycee’s assembly.
Yeah, the battle lines are drawn. They do battle again tomorrow night after the substantially larger media markets of Cleveland and New York bring ESPN back into the picture. I have a hunch they might be more than a tad likely to tune in to their eventual Finals opponent now. Take that, Nielsen.
Courage…
