00:00Oklahoma City. In the closing seconds of a stunning San Antonio Spurs conference finals
00:05takedown of the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, Victor Wambanyama folded his
00:09eight-foot wingspan in half to grip the inside lining of his jersey, nearly ripping it in half
00:15in celebration. On the other end of the floor, Wambanyama's teammate Devin Vassell had just
00:20delivered an exclamation point dunk with 4.1 seconds left to finish a 111-103 game seven
00:28road win, sealing Wambanyama's first trip to the NBA Finals five months after his 22nd birthday.
00:34Wambanyama circled the area in front of the Spurs bench for nearly two minutes immediately after
00:39the incident and alternated between hugging teammates and letting out euphoric yells.
00:44He also broke down in tears and screamed several times at the floor, despite his relative lack of
00:50NBA experience. There were no congratulatory meetings with the defeated opponent. Instead,
00:55they celebrated an achievement that he had long desired. Wambanyama stated,
01:00Winning the Larry O'Brien is a childhood dream. Realizing a dream, having a chance,
01:07a real chance of winning it, having a real shot at it, speaking for myself, the day we win it
01:12will
01:13be an incredible day when a dream comes true. It is difficult to put into words. It's almost like
01:19my life's purpose. Wambanyama and the young Spurs are attempting to disrupt the celebration of the
01:24championship far more quickly than was previously thought possible. According to ESPN Research,
01:31San Antonio recently became the first Finals team with two top scorers under the age of 22,
01:36Wambanyama and third-year guard Stefan Kassel, and the second youngest Finals team based on weighted
01:42minutes played. The 1977 Portland Trail Blazers were the youngest. He has such a vision, in my opinion,
01:50of who he wants to be as a person and a player. Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said to Wambanyama,
01:55The commitment and investment he puts in that vision is like nothing I've ever seen before.
02:01Wambanyama got a lot of help from a supporting cast that was so impressively advanced.
02:06Castle, at 21, has taken a star turn in these playoffs, averaging 19.2 points and 6.7 assists
02:13in the 18-game run to the Western Conference crown, while also serving as the primary defender
02:19on Anthony Edwards and shy Gilgis Alexander in the past two rounds. Harper, the 20-year-old rookie
02:26drafted second 11 months ago, had 24 points in the critical game one-over-time win, scored 18 in 22
02:33high-impact game six bench minutes to push the Thunder to the brink, and then delivered a few
02:38crunch-time rebounds and a late three to push an Antonio over the top. The Spurs will face the New
02:43York Knicks in the NBA Finals, giving Harper, a New Jersey native, the chance of a lifetime in the
02:50infant stages of his career. Harper stated, My dream has always been to play in the Garden in the NBA
02:56Finals. In my first year, I get to do that. Darren Fox, the high-profile 2025 trade deadline edition
03:04that signaled the shifting direction of the previously rebuilding Spurs, had his most impactful game
03:10of the series in the clincher. Fox scored 15 points and had three steals despite suffering a high ankle
03:16sprain that forced him to miss the first two games. Editors' picks. Spurs have thrown OKC in Game 7 to
03:23make
03:24finals. Takeaways from the NBA playoffs. Spurs defeat Thunder. Knicks advance to finals. NBA
03:31aficionados NBA off-season guides. Draft free agency. Trade targets for eliminated teams. Bobby Marks.
03:39Johnson referred to Luke Cornett, Wemba Nima's backup, as having the play of the night. With 7.50 left,
03:46Wemba Nima committed his fifth foul, prompting Johnson to temporarily substitute out Wemba Nima,
03:51while the Spurs attempted to maintain their 97 to 91 lead. In his first offensive possession on the
03:57floor, Cornett retreated after a thunder steal and met Isaiah Hartenstein at the rim, blocking a
04:04transition layup and sparking a fast-break layup the other way that led to a castle pull-up,
04:08putting the Spurs up 8. Wemba Nima stated,
04:11I was so proud of him. So happy. That's the definition of a winning play. However,
04:18Wemba Nima's determination and ability to expedite a career he believes will become legendary are at
04:24the heart of the Spurs' appearance on the biggest stage. In Wemba Nima's first season,
04:29the Spurs went 22-60, including an 18-game losing streak. Those were two facts that Spurs staffers
04:36were reminding each other about post-game. They won 34 games in the second season,
04:41but Wemba Nima's season was cut short by a right-shoulder deep vein thrombosis.
04:46In advance of his third season, the talk around the Spurs was about a goal to make it back into
04:52the playoffs. They succeeded loudly. San Antonio won 62 regular season games. Wemba Nima won defensive
05:00player of the year unanimously and finished third in MVP voting. The Spurs pushed a 64-win
05:06thunder in the standings until the final week and had been viewed as their most threatening opponent
05:11for months. Those predictions proved accurate. Wemba Nima kicked off the series with a 41-point,
05:1724-rebound masterpiece that included a 28-footer in Game 1 that sent the game into overtime and a
05:24dominant extra session. For the totality of the series, Wemba Nima had 19 blocks, the most in the
05:31conference finals since Alonzo Mourning in 2005. In the seven games, he averaged 28.2 points,
05:3811.8 rebounds, and 38.8 minutes per night, earning him all nine votes for West Finals MVP.
05:45I found resources inside of me during the series when Wemba Nima said,
05:49Relentlessness. I already knew that, but doing it at this level, I mean, this is the best basketball
05:55on the planet that's being played right now, including a 4-1 regular season record. The Spurs
06:01defeated the Thunder eight times this season. The rest of the league defeated them only 14 times.
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