The Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs have battled each other to a standstill throughout the Western Conference Finals this season.
Saturday’s Game 7 will send one franchise to the NBA Finals while ending the other’s campaign in heartbreak.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander enters the decisive game averaging 24.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 8.8 assists in the series, along with 1.7 steals per game.
However, the NBA MVP is shooting just 37.9 percent from the field and a concerning 26.1 percent from three-point range across the series.
Gilgeous-Alexander has compensated by going 52-for-54 from the foul line, but ESPN has run extended breakdowns of the MVP hunting for foul calls in Game 6.
For the good of his legacy, Gilgeous-Alexander needs to win Game 7 by making baskets rather than free throws, or the “foul merchant” tag will continue to follow him.
At age 22, Victor Wembanyama won Defensive Player of the Year and finished third in MVP voting, arriving at this series with enormous expectations.
He has delivered several tremendous performances but also games where the Thunder have made him look like a 22-year-old experiencing his first playoffs.
A win would elevate Wembanyama to being the undisputed new face of the NBA and deliver a significant blow in what could be a long-standing rivalry with the Thunder.
Wembanyama has previously said there is “no comparison” between himself and Chet Holmgren, a rivalry that traces back to their international youth basketball days.
Holmgren has averaged only 11.8 points and 7.7 rebounds while making just three three-pointers, and has been embarrassed by Wembanyama at multiple moments in this series.
Holmgren needs a big Game 7 performance where he plays physically rather than shying away from his rival and seeking foul calls.
Isaiah Hartenstein has had the most success of anyone on the Thunder in keeping Wembanyama away from the paint and off the glass throughout the series.
He has also developed a quick, high-arcing floater that effectively negates Wembanyama’s shot-blocking ability, scoring the first eight points of Game 4 with four consecutive floaters.
Beyond reaching the Finals, Hartenstein is also auditioning for his next deal, with the Thunder holding a $28.5 million option on him for next season.
The same financial stakes apply to Lu Dort, who faces an $18.2 million option for the 2026-27 season with Oklahoma City.
De’Aaron Fox was traded to San Antonio to serve as a second All-Star alongside Wembanyama, but has been playing through an ankle injury that kept him out of the first two games.
The Spurs do not need an All-Star performance from Fox in Game 7, simply requiring him to protect the ball after recording only one turnover across the last three games.
Fox managed just 1-for-9 shooting in Game 6, and the Spurs will need improvement in that area if they are to advance and face his former Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown in the Finals.
The post Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama And Three Others With Everything To Prove In Western Conference Finals Game 7 appeared first on Gooner Daily.
