"It just wasn't enough." The Days After Report, pt. 1

Final: Spurs def. Thunder, 111-103

Spurs win Western Conference Finals, 4-3.

Spurs Send Thunder Home, Win Game 7 | NBA Play-by-Play | CourtSketch Box Score

The Spurs beat the Thunder win the Western Conference Finals. Fair and square. San Antonio earned their way to face the New York Knicks with the 2026 championship on the line, ending Oklahoma City's quest for a title repeat.

The play-by-play moments and arc to the game are likely seared into your skull, near those impossible-to-suppress memories of Wemby in Game 1, LeBron in Game 2, AG in Game 3, Russ in Game 4, Dame in Game 5, Klay in Game 6, or KD in Game 7. Stay tuned for a full series autopsy, including the pain of Game 7, in the first chapter from a summer project I'm calling "The Yearbook".

After the loss, the Thunder have since answered questions at the Game 7 postgame presser and yesterday's exit interviews in Oklahoma City. Here is part 1 of our report from the immediate aftermath of OKC's season.

1 Key Thing: This Stings

That Oklahoma City was within two-points of returning to the championship round with less than five healthy quarters from Jalen Williams, the two-way terror essential to their first chip, was commendable. They gave themselves a chance to do what no other title team of memory has been able to: win a second ring without its second best player.

That they didn't close out the series–with San Antonio up against the ropes from Game 4 on, as OKC went up 2-1 and 3-2 before losing the single elimination game in Loud City–is still a massive disappointment. As I wrote in our final scoreboard update of the season: the sting of this failure won't go away anytime soon.

"They're a good team. Beatable team... We tried to make a late push. It just wasn't enough.

Cason Wallace, postgame 5/30/26

Postgame Bolts

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