The cast is complete in the Conference playoffs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Battling for the Western Conference crown are the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder (OKC), with pundits almost equally divided in their predictions.
Eastern Conference Finals
Facing in the Eastern Finals are the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers, with the odds seeming to favor the guys from the City (New York) that doesn’t sleep.
Western Conference Semifinals
Games went true to form in the Western Conference Round 2 series, with the Spurs and Thunder putting away their respective rivals in contrasting fashions. As expected, Victor “Wemby” Wembanyama, the towering French machine, carried the Spurs to a 4-2 triumph over the Minnesota Timberwolves despite being ejected in the middle of the best-of-seven series.
San Antonio’s chances rest literally on the shoulders of the 7-foot-4, 22-year-old Wemby, who will be tested beginning Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Game 1 of the race-to-four Western Finals. How Wemby will fare against the prodigious Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA), the deadliest Thunder of all time, will define the tenor of the series.
Thus, expectedly, too, OKC made mincemeat of the Los Angeles Lakers, mercilessly employing the broom for a massive 4-0 sweep in a telling finish to underscore the Thunder’s determined bid to retain their crown. SGA fired 35 points and issued 8 assists in the Game 4 clincher that completed their two 4-game sweeps against Phoenix and LA in the Western playoffs.
LeBron James made a superb sporting gesture after the Game 4 defeat to OKC, going straight to SGA and Alex Caruso and congratulating the duo and hoping that OKC gets another NBA ring. “Go, get another ring,” James, a four-time Most Valuable Player winner, said to both Thunder players. Caruso was James’ teammate at Los Angeles from 2017-2021 and both won the NBA crown in 2020.
Eastern Conference Semifinals
But while OKC and San Antonio seem to be evenly matched, it’s not quite the same in the Eastern series between New York and Cleveland. The NY Knicks appear to be favored as they scored a 4-0 sweep of Philadelphia, consistently winning in double-digit figures capped by a 144-114 rout in Game 4.
But if only because it beat the Eastern eliminations topnotcher Detroit in a Game 7 decider, Cleveland must not be totally counted out. The Cavs’ 125-94 Game 7 destruction of the Piston deserves praise. So, brace up for thrills only the NBA Theater is capable of dishing off. Popcorn or beer, the difference is the same.
