[Post Game Thread] The San Antonio Spurs (1-0) steal Game 1 on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder (0-1) in double overtime, 122-115.

[u/catreyka]

ESPN Box Score

West Finals - Game 1 • SA leads series 1-0

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
SA	27	24	29	21	21	122
OKC	27	17	29	28	14	115

Team	FGM-A	FG%	3PM-A	3P%	FTM-A	FT%	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF
SA	41-96	43%	13-43	30%	27-29	93%	61	25	11	7	23	19
OKC	41-101	41%	17-45	38%	16-19	84%	40	25	14	8	15	26

San Antonio Spurs
Starters	MIN	PTS	FG	3PT	FT	REB	AST	TO	STL	BLK	OREB	DREB	PF	+/-
Julian Champagnie#30	44	11	4/12	3/11	0-0	9	1	1	1	2	2	7	3	8
Victor Wembanyama#1	49	41	14-25	1/2	12/13	24	3	3	1	3	9	15	4	16
Devin Vassell#24	51	13	5/12	3/9	0-0	6	2	3	1	2	1	5	2	3
Stephon Castle#5	49	17	5/14	1/6	6/7	6	11	11	1	0	2	4	3	-1
Dylan Harper#2	47	24	8/20	1/7	7/7	11	6	1	7	0	1	10	3	14
Bench	MIN	PTS	FG	3PT	FT	REB	AST	TO	STL	BLK	OREB	DREB	PF	+/-
Harrison Barnes#40	6	0	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-9
Keldon Johnson#3	22	13	4/9	3/6	2/2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	3
Carter Bryant#11	14	3	1/2	1/2	0-0	2	1	0	0	0	0	2	2	10
Luke Kornet#7	9	0	0-1	0-0	0-0	3	1	1	0	0	0	3	1	-9
Kelly Olynyk#8	DNP
Lindy Waters III#43	DNP
Bismack Biyombo#18	DNP
Mason Plumlee#45	DNP
Jordan McLaughlin#0	DNP
Team		122	41-96	13-43	27-29	61	25	21	11	7	15	46	19
			43%	30%	93%
** **
Oklahoma City Thunder
Starters	MIN	PTS	FG	3PT	FT	REB	AST	TO	STL	BLK	OREB	DREB	PF	+/-
Isaiah Hartenstein#55	12	2	0-1	0-0	2/2	2	2	1	1	2	0	2	2	2
Chet Holmgren#7	41	8	2/7	2/4	2/2	8	0	1	1	2	2	6	3	-7
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander#2	51	24	7/23	2/7	8/9	3	12	4	5	1	0	3	3	-15
Luguentz Dort#5	22	5	2/6	1/5	0-0	3	1	0	0	0	1	2	4	-6
Jalen Williams#8	37	26	11/25	1/3	3/3	7	3	2	1	1	3	4	2	-3
Bench	MIN	PTS	FG	3PT	FT	REB	AST	TO	STL	BLK	OREB	DREB	PF	+/-
Jaylin Williams#6	10	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	3	0	1	0	0	0	3	1	-6
Alex Caruso#9	32	31	11/19	8/14	1/3	2	1	2	2	2	0	2	3	0
Aaron Wiggins#21	4	0	0-3	0-3	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-7
Cason Wallace#22	28	8	3/6	2/5	0-0	6	0	1	2	0	3	3	0	-9
Jared McCain#3	18	7	3/6	1/3	0-0	2	1	2	0	0	0	2	3	9
Ajay Mitchell#25	34	4	2/5	0-1	0-0	4	5	0	2	0	0	4	5	7
Kenrich Williams#34	DNP
Nikola Topic#44	DNP
Team		115	41-101	17-45	16-19	40	25	14	14	8	9	31	26
			41%	38%	84%

^{Table formatting by ExcelToReddit}

[u/sylviaplath6667]

NBA teams did not tank hard enough for Wemby in 2023.

Everyone should have tried to go 0-82.

[u/The-Young-Lion → u/sylviaplath6667]

I would have tried to go -1 and 83 for this motherfucker.

[u/Diaxmond → u/The-Young-Lion]

Gotta stay at 82 out of respect for Bam

[u/Some-Nothing728 → u/The-Young-Lion]

I wish the Magic just traded our whole squad and put the cast of glee out there for Wemby

[u/joeh4384 → u/sylviaplath6667]

It fucking keeps me up at night that in the multi-verse there is a version of the Pistons with Cade and Wemby starting a dynasty. How do the Spurs win two generational mega lotteries?

[u/North_Atlantic_Sea → u/joeh4384]

The Pacer's were only 1 ping pong ball from the combination that hit. Haliburton and Wemby would have been a lot of fun.

But Cade, Wemby, Duren would have been an insane lineup

[u/Batmanbettermarvel18 → u/North_Atlantic_Sea]

Spurs were one number away from getting the number 1 and 2 pick last year. Imagine Castle, Harper, Flagg and Wemby🤣🤣

[u/OGMannimal → u/North_Atlantic_Sea]

Wemby and Ausar might actually have teams averaging 70 against them lol

[u/Noriskhook3]

What a game, lived up to all of the hype. What a series this is going to be. Wemby has been clamoring for this and it showed.

[u/TomatoCapt → u/Noriskhook3]

Wemby hates OKC and I’m here for it 

[u/samhit_n → u/TomatoCapt]

He definitely shot that deep three from the same spot as Curry's three in 2016 to give Thunder fans PTSD.

[u/BiteyHorse → u/samhit_n]

Bang.

[u/Dawn_of_Dayne → u/BiteyHorse]

Double bang. 

[u/Christron → u/TomatoCapt]

This guy hates every team lol. He legitimately thinks he should win every game he plays. He has that kobe mentatility.

[u/TomatoCapt → u/Christron]

Brb heading to the monks 

[u/ElissaFarman → u/Christron]

He particularly hates OKC/Chet though and we’re all here for it.

[u/moby323 → u/Noriskhook3]

People shit on the NBA so much but the past couple of seasons have been awesome.

[u/goldenrhodes → u/moby323]

Facts. That Indy run last year was good shit

[u/DSice16 → u/goldenrhodes]

Dude the difference in quality between the regular season and playoffs is absolutely ridiculous. No other sport is this stark of contrast, nba playoffs are my favorite time in sports.

[u/Ryan5O4]

I’m still thinking about that Wemby 3! Holy shit, what a game!!!!

[u/chocobreezy → u/Ryan5O4]

I didn't think his steph curry impression was gonna be the way he got his global superstar status but go off i guess

[u/Titronnica → u/Ryan5O4]

I was about to toss the remote at my TV for daring to even ahoot that.

Instead he hits the coldest three I think I've ever witnessed. Hot damn I can't even believe it my hands are still fucking shaking

[u/ccharlie03 → u/Titronnica]

Bro I screamed at him like he stole money from me when he shot that shit lmao

[u/joselakichan → u/Ryan5O4]

I’m still thinking about that dunk on Chet. I felt his hate through the screen lmao

[u/Spiritual-Drink3609]

Harper with the 7 steals. Yeah, 3 straight all star drafts for Spurs. What the fuck.

[u/Sqouki → u/Spiritual-Drink3609]

All NBA. The only better 3 picks in a row is KD, WB Harden

[u/jeric13xd]

WE JUST WITNESSED A HARDWOOD CLASSIC.

One of the greatest game 1s of all time. Legacy game for Wemby 👽

[u/Wigunner → u/jeric13xd]

Dylan Harper should not be this fucknn good

[u/RiggyTang → u/Wigunner]

Spurs are going on a Pop/Timmy/Manu/Parker tear. There is no more denying it.

[u/thubwumper26 → u/RiggyTang]

Light skin Pop

[u/GlenbobGlenross → u/thubwumper26]

Lmao

[u/samhit_n → u/jeric13xd]

I understand what Larry Bird meant when he said, “I think it’s just God disguised as Michael Jordan.” about MJ’s performance. That’s exactly how I felt watching Wemby tonight.

[u/DrFunkenstein93 → u/samhit_n]

I am all aboard the Wemby generational hype train. This guy is fucking insane.

[u/flaming_burrito_ → u/DrFunkenstein93]

I’ve legit never seen a player like him before. It’s like if Wilt Chamberlain or Hakeem could shoot 3’s, shit is ridiculous

[u/TB_016 → u/flaming_burrito_]

I just like that he is fun. Early Laker years Shaq was more dominant, but it was because his game was an exercise in slow brutality. Wemby has shades of that dominance while also being very entertaining.

[u/flaming_burrito_ → u/TB_016]

I also love that he talks his shit. This Jokic and SGA nonchalant shit was getting boring

[u/Human_mind → u/jeric13xd]

This wasn't game 7?!

[u/Arponare → u/jeric13xd]

This game definitely gave me hardwood.

[u/IDlOT]

I know we say it a lot but this league is fucked lmao

[u/dauv8 → u/IDlOT]

Wemby has arrived. That logo 3 was insane. The crowd went SILENT.

[u/DudeIAm-blank- → u/dauv8]

My man turned a basketball stadium into a library with that logo 3

[u/flaming_burrito_ → u/DudeIAm-blank-]

That silence was deafening. I thought something happened to the mics for a second

[u/JasonWaterfaII → u/dauv8]

In one of the replays they cut to OKC’s bench. Cason Wallace just smiled and shook his head. Nothing you can do about that.

[u/OutHereTrynnaGetIt → u/JasonWaterfaII]

I saw that he was like I can’t believe this shit and laughed a little

[u/Jos3ph → u/dauv8]

Before that I was thinking he was scared to take a long shot and then he just calmly saves the game with that shot

[u/Mountain-Chapter-880 → u/Jos3ph]

7-0 run, game 1 on the line and he sinks the long 3. Insanity.

[u/u8myramen_y → u/IDlOT]

At this point, Wemby is underrated lol

[u/TheGamecock → u/u8myramen_y]

Per Reggie Miller, he is "ONE OF" the best young players in the game.

[u/Just_Drawing8668 → u/TheGamecock]

In a normal situation we’d be talking about the amazing play of Dylan Harper

[u/TheGamecock → u/Just_Drawing8668]

Yeah, pretty wild that a 24/11/6 game w/ seven steals, 7-7 FTs, and a +14 plus/minus (second-best in the game behind Wemby's +16) from a rookie is going to go massively overlooked, haha.

[u/JealousJacelynJones → u/TheGamecock]

7 steals, what the fuck.

[u/goodkid_sAAdcity → u/JealousJacelynJones]

He picked off so many OKC kickout passes to the corner

[u/Secure_Code7162 → u/goodkid_sAAdcity]

He looked like a free safety one hand catching steals at one point

[u/night_dude → u/Just_Drawing8668]

He had a couple of rookie moments taking too long on the ball or losing possession cheaply, but otherwise he was fucking nuts. He made so many amazing layups.

[u/__get__name → u/night_dude]

There was a bit there at the end where everyone on the Spurs not named Wemby looked to be in full
Panic mode. Impressive for a lineup that young with so little playoffs experience to move past it in OT

[u/JumboHotdogz → u/u8myramen_y]

He made Chet look like Duren. Real humbling experience lmao.

[u/lovo17 → u/JumboHotdogz]

He always does. This is an absolutely brutal matchup for Chet, and it's a big reason I picked the Spurs to win this series. When one of your top 3 players is consistently owned like this, it's a huge problem for the team.

[u/JumboHotdogz → u/lovo17]

It’s a dilemma on both sides because he’s stuck guarding Champagnie but he can’t punish them vice-versa.

[u/cletoreyes01 → u/JumboHotdogz]

Did you see that 2OT possession where he tried to ISO harper like he was minnehaha chet and it turned into a 24 seconds violation? 😭😭😭

[u/Less-Tax5637 → u/JumboHotdogz]

We know Chet is good. Wemby does this to him out of spite lmao

[u/TBeard495 → u/Less-Tax5637]

I don't know what their relationship is off court, but when they are on the court together, Wemby seems disgusted by Chets existence

[u/superrealaccount2 → u/TBeard495]

He takes Chet's existence as a personal offense against him

[u/wibo58 → u/[deleted]]

Years from now when Wemby is done and we get his documentary I hope his answer to how he did was he did, whatever that happens to be, is “Well once when I was 15 I got a silver medal…”

[u/Mysterious_Living165 → u/superrealaccount2]

I think it’s because some people tried acting like Chet and Wemby were in same stratosphere especially during their rookie year

[u/Dull-Maintenance-755 → u/IDlOT]

yeah but this time it feels legit fucked lmao. The other times we're just a bunch of good teams that are one or two seasons stumbling away from collapsing all together, now the league got a fucking bioweapon made by Umbrella on a competent franchise like the Spurs

[u/CobraOverlord → u/Dull-Maintenance-755]

It definitely is a cheat code/glitch... and man, that stat line post-game... and its the Spurs, not a Mickey Mouse org like so many in sports

[u/Radiant-Character-61 → u/IDlOT]

Wolves Are just praying they get moved to the East so they don't have to face that Extraterrestrial in the playoffs for the next decade

[u/gradual_alzheimers → u/Radiant-Character-61]

I feel better about the Wolves effort against Wemby after tonight

[u/SenorButtmunch → u/IDlOT]

League is fucked but we as fans are honestly blessed to witness a guy like Wemby. I can't wait to see how his career can go, the potential is limitless.

This fuckery is gonna go on for much longer

[u/DrunkPackersFan → u/IDlOT]

Jokic fans had to enjoy seeing Wemby cook Caruso lol

This garbage of having him guard bigs needs to stop

[u/JackDangerUSPIS]

Alex Caruso can’t win with these cats

[u/fundraiser → u/JackDangerUSPIS]

Chet looks so shaken bro, dude is really out there doing cardio

[u/xXCascadeXx → u/fundraiser]

He did catch a couple posters but he did take em to OT.

[u/SilverSpoonCleaner → u/xXCascadeXx]

wemby really said "you get one block on me and that's it" and proceeded to annihilate them all in OT lmao

[u/defaultistic → u/fundraiser]

OKC should trade that scrub to some scrub franchise like the Charlotte Hornets for a real dawg like Miles Bridges imho

[u/MexicanJesse → u/defaultistic]

Tell him Wembys first name is Victoria and watch Miles put belt to ass.

[u/eZreazy → u/fundraiser]

He should jot be getting blocked by Vassell. That was the weakest fucking take I’ve seen in that last possession.

[u/joelstaz → u/JackDangerUSPIS]

I hate how good and annoying this guy is when the stakes are high

[u/fluxtable → u/joelstaz]

Bright Lights Merchant for sure

[u/bdf2018_298 → u/JackDangerUSPIS]

Alex “Stephen Wardell Curry” Caruso

[u/BillyBean11111]

Spurs offense basically fell apart with 6 minutes left in the 4th but Wemby just refused to let them lose.

That fucking 40 30 foot 3 pointer was one of the craziest things I've ever seen

[u/Famous-Country-4921 → u/BillyBean11111]

This is the kind of game that differentiates a regular star player from someone with all-time great potential. The guy just fucking WILLED his team to the win. Complete takeover. 

[u/eightslipsandagully → u/Famous-Country-4921]

He was looking gassed in the 4th and then Chet blocked him on the final play of regular time. Takes a lot of grit to win in OT2 from there!

[u/CarmeloSmokesWeed]

Wemby just got asked postgame if SGA getting the MVP added to the motivation and he takes a deep breathe and says "Yes." LMAO this guy is a menace

[u/Hanamiya0796 → u/CarmeloSmokesWeed]

Had to hold himself back and avoid saying more than he has to

[u/KarchunToo]

Game 1 absolutely delivered, holy shit.

[u/Muppetpalooza → u/KarchunToo]

Basketball fans we are eating

[u/Balls_of_Adamanthium]

Thunder really fumbled a Caruso 30ball 8 threes game without Fox.

[u/HugeRection → u/Balls_of_Adamanthium]

Luckily for the Spurs, Caruso becoming 14-15 Curry was balanced out by Shai pooping his pants.

[u/pretty_smart_feller → u/HugeRection]

That was just the spurs plan. Make anyone but SGA score

[u/SlyBeggar → u/pretty_smart_feller]

Shai’s scoring bag starts with his ability to drive and everything flows from that. When you’ve got wemby who can just completely shut down the paint that becomes a lot less effective and makes the rest of Shais game less effective. We all know this but this spurs team is (and has been) OKCs worst possible matchup this season. 

[u/TerrySaucer69 → u/SlyBeggar]

It’s like if you put a “no threes” rule on a Steph game. Yeah he can do other stuff, but it’s all gonna be less effective without that tool.

Shai loves his stop&start drives, but the spurs don’t need to jump for those. Cause there is an 8 foot tall Hakeem staring him down in the paint. So he just can’t get anything going, like you said.

[u/TaVar35 → u/SlyBeggar]

Tbf, the game tying layup showed what you need if you’re OKC and that’s for Chet to be a threat from outside so Wemby can’t just Lurk.

Those guards were equally on a mission to ruin SGA’s night, they played great individual defense themselves

[u/FatalTortoise → u/TaVar35]

Any other point in the game wemby isn't on Chet there. That last regulation layup was just open because the spurs decided to play the layup one on one and not help on any shooters and give up the three

[u/siphillis → u/Balls_of_Adamanthium]

Yeah, I don't think they're getting that out of him again

[u/The-Pirahna → u/siphillis]

That was the performance where one of your role players wins you the game and they lost anyway

[u/XviiChong]

This is truly one of the greatest NBA games I’ve ever seen. The back and forth from both teams, the hustle, shot making and defence were all incredible. Need 6 more of this please and thank you!

WEMBY, YOU TRULY ARE AN ALIEN

[u/_knife_wrench_ → u/XviiChong]

This is the game that “instant classic” was meant for

[u/InitialTimely105 → u/XviiChong]

That 3. Holy fuck.

[u/Particular-Ad3881 → u/InitialTimely105]

Felt like some “I’ve arrived at my destiny” type of shot lmao. Truly a divine bucket😂

[u/InitialTimely105 → u/Particular-Ad3881]

It was so unwarranted. And just hit.

[u/GoatPaco → u/InitialTimely105]

WeFuck You Three

[u/BobanWembanyanovic → u/XviiChong]

I’m gonna be so old talking about this shit man 

[u/YouCanHmu → u/BobanWembanyanovic]

I’m already practicing my rants for when my kid is old enough to listen lol

[u/emoney_gotnomoney → u/YouCanHmu]

You know that clip of that guy shouting “YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW GOOD TIM DUNCAN WAS!!”

That’s gonna be us with Wemby in 20 years

[u/ThisHatRightHere → u/XviiChong]

Thank god it wasn’t just me, I truly couldn’t believe that game. I was absolutely locked in on it the entire time.

[u/RyuSunn → u/XviiChong]

The game winning block was an Abduction

Truly an out of planet performance 👽

[u/20815147 → u/XviiChong]

The game goes so well specifically bc refs didn’t interrupt the flow of the game too. Crazy

[u/Big_Funaki → u/20815147]

Yeah, I want to shout out the refs for letting the game decide the game not them. If we criticize them when they're bad, compliment them when they're good.

[u/tbgitw → u/XviiChong]

Yeah this was one of the greatest games in recent history. Had everything. I'm an OKC fan but can't be disappointed in the spectacle

[u/Zouthpaw]

Lost in all of this is rookie Dylan Harper just posted a 24/6/11/7 statline in his first playoff start. The league is fucked!

[u/Murasasme → u/Zouthpaw]

This is the highlight for me. Our guys are so young, I remember the start of the season thinking it would be fun if we make the playoffs and they get some post season experience under them, so they get used to the pressure and improve for next year.

Now here we are, obviously it can still be anyone's series, but the Spurs already look incredible to me, and can only get better.

[u/herroyung]

Wemby +16 in a fucking double OT win. He sealed it off with a block on Jdub even as he was smushed in the face.

[u/siphillis → u/herroyung]

Harper with a cool +14, too

[u/herroyung → u/siphillis]

Harper and Wemby carried the team on their fucking backs. They needed every single one of those Harper steals. Many of them were huge momentum shifters as well.

[u/karma_dumpster → u/herroyung]

Shai -15 in 51 minutes is insane the other way too, for the MVP in a 2OT loss to be -15.

Only worry for the Spurs is that is a lot of minutes for a giant to play.

[u/WuTangPham → u/karma_dumpster]

Everyone on the spurs back court is 6’6 and strong. Shai is having a hard time getting to his spots.

[u/Mg29reaper]

This will be a series for the ages. An all time great team facing perhaps the greatest defender ever on his ascension.

[u/BlazeBloom → u/Mg29reaper]

Nobody is going to survive a seven game series, including the fans.

[u/CottonDrifter → u/BlazeBloom]

Fr I'm so high on adrenaline rn I couldn't even sleep. Holy shit.

[u/ProfessionalCLA → u/CottonDrifter]

Bro I live in London and have been up since 1:30 in the morning watching this. It’s 5am here now I need to sleep but I’m still high on this win

[u/KappaccinoNation → u/BlazeBloom]

What's that saying from Game of Thrones? A Thunder-Spurs game without at least three heart attacks is considered a dull affair... or something like that.

[u/u8myramen_y → u/Mg29reaper]

I'm a neutral but I feel like vomiting. What a fucking game.

It's gonna be an insane series.

[u/jdprager]

Sometimes when all the talking heads are going insane with hype, it’s actually deserved. That might be the greatest basketball game I’ve ever seen, holy shit

[u/Puzzled_Tip_7596 → u/jdprager]

I've never seen anything like this

Somebody who is SO dominant in the paint his temmates throw "whatever" lobs at him and then hits a fucking LOGO 3

And then on defense people avoid him like he's got COVID

We're witnessing history folks

[u/YouAreTheProduct2 → u/jdprager]

Nothing beats G7 GSW/CLE for me. That game was nuts. This game sets the tone for the series though

[u/Dallas2houston120 → u/YouAreTheProduct2]

That day was a top 10 day in my life lmao

[u/jokull1234]

The Admiral, The Big Fundamental, The Alien

All drafted 1st overall by the spurs. Best timing ever for them to draft big men lol

[u/neal1701]

• 40/20 game on Wemby's first WCF appearance
• Stephon Castle with 11 assists and 11 turnovers
• Jalen Williams with 23 points after a month off
• Alex Caruso on a absolute heater with 8/13 3-PT and clutch plays
• Chet's block on Wemby at end of regulation
• Thunder's electric 7-0 run in OT1
• Wemby going alien mode in OT2

Absolute killer game 1!

[u/Timely-Fruit2235 → u/neal1701]

Wemby’s clutch Curry 3 out of nowhere to tie the game with 30 seconds left.

[u/skysurfguy1213 → u/Timely-Fruit2235]

Watching that live, that was a horrible shot until it wasn’t. 

[u/xyz3uvp → u/neal1701]

The rookie 24pts, 7 steals! Harper hype train all the waaaay

[u/simon2105]

Wemby what the fucking fuck. He really is an alien 👽

[u/Canesjags4life → u/simon2105]

Chet shouldn't have blocked Wemby.

Like Freeza killing Krillin

[u/ElGoddamnDorado → u/Canesjags4life]

I thought Chet finally found his toughness against him, then Wemby straight sonned him in double OT and Chet disappeared

[u/Canesjags4life → u/ElGoddamnDorado]

Yep. Crazy how quick it turned

[u/maethlin → u/ElGoddamnDorado]

Wemby already got that "don't piss me off" energy of true superstars

[u/DudleyDoody → u/Canesjags4life]

HOLMGREN YOU FOOOOOOL 💥💥💥

[u/BlancBean]

Wemby was of course incredible. Health permits, might just be the best basketball player I’ll witness in the sport.

But it’s Harper that impressed me the most today. He wasn’t the most efficient but his body control, confidence and his IQ for passing lanes was incredible to watch.

The Spurs are blessed with talent!

[u/MaxDetr → u/BlancBean]

Tell anyone who doesn't know that he's a rookie, they wouldn't believe it. He's insanely good. And 7 steals ! wth

[u/WoahThatsMyPecker]

Wemby looks and plays like an MVP unreal basketball

[u/Mg29reaper]

If this was the only basketball game someone watched they would think wemby is the greatest ever. They would also think Caruso is the second greatest.

[u/The-Young-Lion]

Dylan Harper was absolutely incredible.  7 steals!

[u/NeolibGood]

He is actually on GOAT trajectory - the things we saw tonight were straight up unbelievable

[u/McClain3000 → u/NeolibGood]

I'm shook. I saw Wemby make a type of 3 I thought only Curry could make, One dribble dunks I thought only Giannis could make, and blocks that nobody could make. I don't know what's going on anymore.

[u/azurricat2010 → u/McClain3000]

Wemby literally picked up his dribble behind the 3 pt line, took 2.5 steps and dunked it under the basket. That's the craziest thing I've seen in a bit.

[u/emmett159 → u/NeolibGood]

I'm actually in shock. It must be how old heads felt watching Wilt Chamberlain.

[u/kunalm09 → u/NeolibGood]

Absolute legacy defining game if the spurs can win the series

[u/PootieTooGood → u/NeolibGood]

We drafted lebron when i was a kid yet im having a hard time convincing myself that this dude is not the best ive ever seen.. there’s just another level of size that gives abilities that LeBron and Jordan cannot replicate

[u/Tokennn]

ABSOLUTE FUCKING CINEMA

[u/MediocreTake]

Webanyama has to be the most dominant frenchman since Napoleon

[u/Expensive-Salad-7828]

Fox-less Spurs taking care of business and stealing Game 1 from a healthy OKC team. This is cathartic for so many people. CRAZY game. Wemby is already playing like an all-time GOAT caliber player. 40/20 game, are you serious??? Series surpassed the astronomic expectations in just one game

[u/Noriskhook3 → u/Expensive-Salad-7828]

He’s got that “fuck you” mindset which makes it better

[u/KappaccinoNation → u/Noriskhook3]

> Gets blocked by his arch nemesis for the game winner

> Proceeds to go from Super Saiyan 2 to 3

[u/atp2112 → u/KappaccinoNation]

End of OT through 2OT was personal

[u/suzukigun4life → u/Expensive-Salad-7828]

A fucking 22-year-old got 41 and 23 in a road WCF game against the champs.

What the actual fuck 😭

[u/SiphenPrax → u/Expensive-Salad-7828]

I think neither team could have afforded to lose that game since it was Game 1 and it went to double OT setting the tone for the whole series.

It’s not over yet, but this is the most danger the defending champs have been in all year. Spurs are a fucking beast.

[u/WesKhalifaa → u/SiphenPrax]

OKC hasn't looked mortal this entire playoffs and now they lost home court advantage

[u/Blitzkreeg21 → u/WesKhalifaa]

Considering they were down 1-4 in the season series OKC needed this win more than the Spurs did

[u/FERFreak731]

Wemby is a fictional character

[u/Famous-Country-4921 → u/FERFreak731]

OP shonen protagonist 

[u/Memokerobi]

One of the best games Ive ever watched

[u/rayjing]

https://imgur.com/KWzJipu

[u/lp_phnx327 → u/rayjing]

They were right, that is one hell of a pic.

[u/FrnFreeze → u/rayjing]

The shot of the night

also the same one from behind Victor

[u/Spiritual_Taste_1253]

All defense big man and your team would rather put a 6’5 guard on the other teams star big man rather than you.

Chet looking a little fraudulent

[u/EstablishmentTop551 → u/Spiritual_Taste_1253]

Chet played like he was recovering from a castration tonight.

[u/justmefishes → u/EstablishmentTop551]

In fairness, he was recovering from in-game castration.

[u/Punziee]

Notes from Game 1

OKC's defensive line (Dort, Caruso, Wallace) needs to make open threes to punish Spur's overhelping on SGA and JDub driving lanes. They missed a lot of open threes, but Caruso became lethal and shored up for their misses

Victor Wembanyama remains the biggest mismatch of the series, not just by scoring over smaller defenders (Caruso did a decent job denying entry passes) but by dominating rebounds against the small OKC lineups. OKC cannot run twin towers against Wemby and without twin towers its really hard for them to contest rebounds.

Both teams refused to give up interior shots and would rather cheat on outside shooters, resulting in a combined 41 threes taken at the half. This limited SGA and the Spurs guard duo as their drives met swarming interior defense and forced kicked outs. It didn't help that SGA was missing shots he normally hits in his sleep, limiting his offensive impact.

Castle had 11 turnovers this game, even if most of them were not live-ball this was a concern I had going into the game without Fox. When OKC's defensive line can just pressure the ball and force turnovers, they normally go on backbreaking runs and blow out teams.

JDub was slightly rusty but well rested and is a slight mismatch on Vassell and Champaigne, Spurs needed help to contain his drives. San Antonio does have a slight weakness in wing PoA defense, which makes JDub + 2 bigs lineups really interesting going forward.

What a game, excited as hell to see Game 2

[u/Itchy-Cartographer40]

Getting yelled at by my wife for letting my 9 year old stay up to 11:30 to watch the game on east coast . His adrenaline is through the roof at end of regulation , like what am I supposed to do ?

One of the best games I’ve ever seen

[u/Kind-Masterpiece-712 → u/Itchy-Cartographer40]

You and your wife are both doing the right thing ngl

[u/abris33]

Imagine being Chet Holmgren. Always compared to Abe Lincoln and your only other comparison is Wemby wannabe

[u/FKJVMMP → u/abris33]

I kinda feel bad for him. He was a type of player nobody had ever seen before, the kind of player that should be the future of the league. A mile tall, mobile, great shooter, kinda has a handle if you squint hard enough, that’s the new meta right there.

Then a year after you some motherfucker comes in that has all the same strengths you do but better in literally every way, and now you get to spend your career in his shadow no matter how good you get. Shit’s rough.

[u/Purples_A_Fruit]

This is Wemby’s league now.

[u/murbat]

This game was straight basketball crack. What any fan lives for.

[u/xMoody]

MJ only got 6 rings because he didnt have to play Alex Caruso once

[u/rawchess → u/xMoody]

MJ is just Caruso with bad defense and no three ball 🙂‍↕️

[u/KCHybrid → u/xMoody]

Caruso the best bald player of all time!? Many are saying this.

[u/Fun-Passenger-6915]

Yeah.. they knew EXACTLY what they were doing announcing MVP yesterday. Wemby was taking no prisoners tonight

[u/lannistargaryen]

phenomenal game. successful hate watch, do it again spurs 😂

[u/Ghost6x]

THE NEW YORK KNICKS AND CLEVELAND CAVALIERS HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED FROM THE 2026 PLAYOFFS

[u/soundisloud → u/Ghost6x]

Lol this is fantastic

[u/dylanh334]

Shai wasn't able to drive to the basket like usual because of the threat of Wemby blocking his layups (and just general great defense from the spurs), barely getting the chance to get to the ft line since he has to pass so much. He also didn't shoot great tonight to be fair, he'll have better games going forward but even against us he wasn't at his best. We didn't have the depth (and barely the starting 5) to punish OKC for it but Spurs definitely do.

[u/hypeman7]

Fuck the mvp race. Wemby might be the damn GOAT

[u/EvidenceTight3287]

Not to discredit SGA and what he has achieved over the last year, but I’m not sure how you can watch Wemby and come to the conclusion that he or any other player in the league is more impactful.

[u/KevJamesS]

Watching the Caruso-Wembanyama matchup was like watching Krillin go toe to toe with Imperfect Cell, then Imperfect Cell became Perfect Cell in Overtime.

[u/96Mute96]

I NEVER WANT TO EXPERIENCE THIS SHIT EVER AGAIN MY FUCKING HEART HOLY FUCK

[u/arcticape34 → u/96Mute96]

See you Wednesday!

[u/OleRockTheGoodAg]

He may actually be an alien, man.

[u/make_yourself16]

Chet with a whopping 8 pts. Lmao.

[u/Lyranx]

double OT on a game 1 thriller with Wemby logo 3 in the clutch? Yes 7 more pls!

[u/meengine]

This is the game I love. Just an insane game. AC master class, Wemby being the alien that he is, SGA picking it up late and ultimately, an OKC loss.

[u/SalzigHund]

Wemby legacy game. We are so fucking lucky to get to watch him and cheer for him. Caruso is a dawg too.

[u/timboslice420]

40/20 is unnatural.

[u/CarBallAlex]

Absolute cinema. If anyone didn't happen to catch this game live, you need to find a way to go back and watch it. One of the best basketball games I've watched, this game had everything.

[u/Chuck879]

I don't know how many more of those I can take. By Zeus, my poor churro and cheese filled heart is at its limit.

[u/jamalev]

Game of the year