Thunder meet Spurs and Knicks face Cavaliers in NBA Conference Finals
The Oklahoma City Thunder will face the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference, while the New York Knicks take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East as the 2026 NBA playoffs reach the final four.
The defending champions from Oklahoma swept the Los Angeles Lakers to set up a blockbuster showdown against Victor Wembanyama’s rising side.
In the Eastern Conference, a well-rested New York outfit awaits a Cleveland team that survived a gruelling seven-game series on the road.
Both Eastern franchises began the campaign as pre-season co-favourites to win their conference.
Now, star talents including Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell and James Harden will decide who advances to the championship series.
Tactical battles in the West
The marquee matchup between Oklahoma City and San Antonio promises to be an all-time classic.
Back-to-back Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the repeat bid for the reigning title holders.
However, they face a youthful Texas franchise that has rapidly accelerated its rebuilding timeline to reach this stage.
San Antonio’s strategy during the regular season involved daring the opposition’s perimeter defenders to beat them from distance.
Defensive dilemmas
The Spurs regularly assigned the towering Wembanyama to guard role players, packing the paint to restrict driving lanes.
This approach yielded regular-season success, severely limiting the offensive output of Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace.
During a Christmas Day victory, the San Antonio defence held Caruso to just two successful three-pointers from 12 attempts.
Oklahoma City’s overall attacking efficiency dropped by more than 10 points when perimeter specialist Luguentz Dort was on the floor against the Texas side.
Shooting accuracy remains key
To counter this defensive blockade, the champions may need to rely heavily on sharpshooters Isaiah Joe and Jared McCain.
Yet deploying pure shooters risks exposing their own defence to a dynamic opposition backcourt featuring De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle.
San Antonio will also be wary of gifting open opportunities to proven post-season performers.
The defensive trio of Caruso, Dort and Wallace successfully converted 40 per cent of their three-point attempts as their team breezed past Phoenix and Los Angeles.
Overcoming the experience gap
Despite a lack of deep playoff experience, San Antonio have already demonstrated remarkable resilience.
They comfortably dispatched the Portland Trail Blazers in the opening round before overcoming the Minnesota Timberwolves in six games.
Meanwhile, the Knicks enter their Eastern Conference clash with a significant eight-day rest advantage following a dominant second-round sweep.