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Now that the 2026 NBA playoffs are in the rearview mirror, I think we can safely crown the 2026 Western Conference Finals as the most epic series clash. Sure, the eventual NBA champion actually became the New York Knicks — despite being contrary to popular belief.
But the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs went the distance in a series that featured the NBA's top two teams all year. Both were 60-win juggernauts that blew teams out left and right. When they faced off, it was a meeting of NBA heavyweights — ala The Rock and John Cena at WrestleMania.
In a Feb. 2026 podcast clip with Dylan Harper that has recently gone viral, what he said on Vince Carter's and Tracy McGrady's 'Cousins' podcast aged like fine wine. Of course, the 20-year-old popped off in the NBA playoffs. He was arguably San Antonio's second-best player in their run to the NBA Finals.
Harper's old comments resurfaced as he pinpointed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams as two of their toughest defensive assignments. The Spurs took four of five over the Thunder in the regular season, but a lot of caveats filled those matchups thanks to injuries.
"Shai and Jalen Williams from OKC," Harper said. "When we first played them, we beat them. But I was like, 'Them two kinda hard to guard.'"
The Thunder and Spurs were in a tier of their own throughout the year. It felt inevitable the two would square off in the Western Conference Finals. When it did happen, the duel was somewhat spoiled. Williams only played one entire game healthy and Ajay Mitchell missed the last four games of the series. Without those two, OKC's offense eventually fell apart.
Meanwhile, Harper's ascension helped the Spurs be ahead of schedule. Because of his unusual landing spot, the 2025 NBA draft No. 2 pick didn't get the same opportunities usually associated with his status. Instead, he was a bench player to San Antonio's win machine.
That said, Harper broke out in the NBA playoffs. He averaged 14.1 points and 5.6 rebounds. Even though they fell short of an NBA championship, the consensus was he'd be the long-term Robin to Victor Wembanyama's Batman.
In their playoff series, the Spurs were allowed to fully pay attention to Gilgeous-Alexander and ignore the rest. The strategy almost backfired. Jared McCain had a couple of 20-point games to put OKC in a 3-2 series lead. Alas, the talent discrepancy was too much to overcome. You needed to be fully healthy to beat San Antonio. And the Thunder just didn't have the same health luck as the previous two years.
"They got four ball-handlers. Shai, just the way he creates angle, gets to your body, tempo," Harper said. "He's always going. He don't like playing against a crowd. If he misses or makes, he's gone."
Who knows how the series would've played out if Williams was healthy? After all, he was an All-NBA talent the year before. He helped the Thunder bring home an NBA championship on an injured wrist. But four hamstring strains in five months completely ruined his season. He was just never healthy for a long enough stretch of time to gain a rhythm.
"JDub uses his body. Gets to the rim and uses both hands," Harper said. "Guarding the two, I think was like, 'Alright. When I play them, I got to make sure I know everything.'"
I know it's a little disingenuous to see Harper's comments resurface right now. They're being presented as if it recently happened — rather than at the NBA All-Star break. If you look online, he's being buried on social media for excluding Brunson and the Knicks. That said, I don't think his thoughts should change too much.
The Thunder pushed the Spurs to the brink of elimination. All with Gilgeous-Alexander's scoring numbers being affected by the constant pressure and Williams basically being a no-show in their playoff series. If OKC had a little better injury luck, it's easy to see things shake out differently. Alas. Can't get stuck in playing the what-if game in the NBA.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Dylan Harper credits 2 OKC Thunder players as hardest guys to guard
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