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After a week off, the Oklahoma City Thunder are ready for a highly anticipated heavyweight bout. They will officially face the San Antonio Spurs in the 2026 Western Conference Finals. Since Christmas, it's felt like these two teams would inevitably square off at this stage.
Throughout the year, the Thunder and Spurs were in a tier of their own. They were both 60-plus-win machines who dominated the rest of the competition. Now, we get to see OKC and San Antonio fight it out in an NBA playoff series that could determine the eventual NBA champion.
The Thunder publicly talked about the Spurs for the first time since the matchup became official on Friday. Here's what the reigning NBA champions had to say about their toughest test yet in the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander era:
Mark Daigneault
On the Spurs: "Just like any really good team. They're really good on both ends, pretty top-end talent and have great depth. They can attack you in a number of ways on both ends of the floor. The better the team is, the more you have to be able to handle. The slimmer the margin for error gets. It's a team that we have high respect for and understand what they're capable of."
On the historic implication: "It’s fitting because both teams earned their way here. You win four games to advance and if you do that again, you're in the Western Conference Finals. That's what makes it fitting. It’s a team we have a ton of respect for. We know what they're capable of. It's an opponent that is incredibly worthy. We're going to need to be our best to beat and we understand that."
Alex Caruso
On the Spurs: "Just staying mentally and physically prepared. When you have that long of a break, there's always professionalism you need to take into account. To stay locked in to the goal and the focus you need this time of year. Just preparing for a really good team. I don't think anybody else won 60 games this year. It was just us and them. Based on records, it was the two best regular-season teams this year. We know they're a good team. We have a lot of respect for them from what they've been able to accomplish. Preparing for war. We’re a good team. They’re a good team. Good basketball will be played.”
On the Spurs-Thunder rivalry: "I don't think so. I don't know how many times the teams have played in the postseason. Call it what you want. Y’all are the media. Y'all get to label it for us. It's just about going out there and trying to win basketball games."
On Wembanyama: "He’s 7-foot-3 and can dribble and drive. He's a talented guy, obviously. His physical stature is one of the key weapons that make him really hard to guard. Through the year, I think I've seen him pick up the pace a little with reads and just figuring out how he can be effective. He's a really good player."
Jaylin Williams
On their regular-season series against the Spurs: "Honestly, nothing. The playoffs are such a different monster. It's a different game. You're never playing a team this many times in a row in the regular season."
On the Holmgren-Wembanyama rivalry: "I think Chet’s an All-NBA, All-Defense guy in this league. He’s an All-Star. Every night, regardless of who we're playing, who he's lined up against, he takes the same approach. I don't think anybody on our team wakes up because we're playing the Spurs. We’re waking up because we're in the playoffs and want to be the best version of ourselves."
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: OKC Thunder react to Western Conference Finals matchup against Spurs
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