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After an epic seven-game duel captured the NBA world's attention, the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs will likely write several more chapters in their historic basketball rivalry. For now, the former will try to even the scoreboard after they fall short in a Game 7 loss in the 2026 Western Conference Finals.
The Thunder and Spurs were the top teams in the league last year. They were in a tier of their own. Not only as 60-win juggernauts, but by blowing teams out left and right. That's why their postseason clash felt inevitable. The heavyweight bout lived up to the hype — and then some.
Sure, the New York Knicks capped off a historic playoff run with an NBA championship, but the Thunder and Spurs enter the 2026-27 season as co-favorites to bring home the Larry O'Brien trophy. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a two-time MVP winner. Victor Wembanyama could collect his first prestigious award this upcoming year.
Dealt a bad hand healthwise as Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell missed the latter half of the seven-game series, Cason Wallace is ready to run things back with the Spurs. He was one of OKC's top postseason players and is due a hefty contract extension. The 22-year-old talked about OKC's rivalry with San Antonio on the 'Cousins' podcast with Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter.
"Absolutely. I feel like they’ve got the best of us," Wallace said. "They beat us. If we just keeping it a hundred, they beat us. They beat us in the season. They beat us in the playoffs. So it’s like we got to fight back."
Aside from Gilgeous-Alexander, Wallace was the only other guy you could say left it all on the court in Game 7. He had 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the loss. In the NBA playoffs, he shot a ridiculous 48.4% from 3 on 4.1 attempts — completely redeeming himself from a so-so outside shooting regular season.
After the Thunder said goodbye to a handful of role players, Wallace will have every chance to level up. He had a Year 3 breakout as a first-time All-Defense member. OKC is banking on his continued development. Specifically, on offense. He was all smiles in his exit interview about his ball-handling possessions. Now, he'll get more added to his plate. How a potential postseason rematch with the Spurs will depend a lot on how he plays.
"For us to have the best record in the league two, three years in a row, and then for them to come in and this postseason do what they did," Wallace said. "It’s like our competitive spirit is like, 'Yo, we got to beat them.'"
Good to hear Wallace sound excited about the Thunder and Spurs being one of the NBA's top rivalries. Anytime they matchup, it'll be must-watch TV. Perhaps his development could better OKC's odds to finally beat the team that had its number last year.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Cason Wallace ready to continue Thunder-Spurs rivalry: 'We got to fight back'
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