2026 NBA playoffs: Conference finals takeaways

The Conference Finals of the 2026 NBA playoffs is here, and our NBA insiders have you covered for every game of the Eastern and Western matchups.

The No. 2-seeded New York Knicks, who swept the seventh-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in the East, will face the Cleveland Cavaliers after they went to seven games with the No. 1-seeded Detroit Pistons.

In the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder face off against the San Antonio Spurs as the top two seeds battle it out in a highly-anticipated series.

With only four teams one round away from their shot at the Larry O’Brien Trophy, here’s what matters most in both conferences and what to watch in the series.

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Thunder-Spurs

More coverage:
Schedules and results | Offseason guides

Western Conference

Biggest takeaway from Game 1:

This West finals opener, perhaps the first of many playoff games between two teams destined to be dominant for several years to come, lived up to all the hype. After watching Shai Gilgeous-Alexander receive the MVP trophy in a pregame ceremony, Victor Wembanyama was by far the best player on the floor in the Western Conference finals opener. But the defending champions managed to rally from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter and Chet Holmgren made sure the game would go to overtime by swatting away Wembanayma’s shot at the buzzer. Gilgeous-Alexander slithered through a crack and slammed home a dunk over Wembanyama, whose contest was a split-second late, giving OKC a three-point lead with less than a minute remaining in the first OT. Wembanyama tied it up by swishing a pull-up 3 from the spot on the Paycom Center court that Stephen Curry made famous. In the end, Wembanyama was just too good. His 41-point, 24-rebound, 3-block performance — punctuated by a pair of late dunks and a denial on the other end to put the game away — was the most memorable aspect of an epic game. — Tim MacMahon

Game 2: San Antonio at Oklahoma City (Wednesday, 8:30 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock)

What to watch in Game 2:

Maybe the extra rest resulted in some early rust for Oklahoma City in Game 1, but it’s unlikely the Thunder will continue to shoot this poorly as this series progresses. OKC generated clean looks but failed to get shots to fall consistently, especially over the first three quarters. The Thunder made just 37.2% from the field and 27.3% from range over the first two quarters yet trailed at intermission by seven points after scoring 12 points off eight San Antonio turnovers, including five from Stephon Castle, who finished with 11 giveaways (including three in the fourth quarter and two in overtime). OKC entered the series ranked third in postseason 3-point shooting percentage (38.4%).

Meanwhile, back-to-back MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander struggled as a shooter with Castle and rookie Carter Bryant draped all over him for much of the night. Over the first three quarters, OKC found a way to score 17 points on the 18 plays SGA was doubled. San Antonio focused on minimizing Gilgeous-Alexander’s impact in the paint, leaving open 3-pointers that the Thunder flat out missed. That likely won’t continue.

Castle’s turnovers will be something to keep an eye on, too, along with the progress of veteran point guard De’Aaron Fox, who was a late scratch due to a high right ankle sprain. Fox’s absence forced San Antonio to start rookie Dylan Harper alongside Castle. The Spurs rolled out the youngest starting lineup in NBA Conference Finals history with an average age of 22 years and 346 days and they didn’t buckle in the raucous environment of Paycom Center.

Pay attention to the battle of the bigs, too. Chet Holmgren blocked Victor Wembanyama’s potential game-winner in regulation and limited the Frenchman to 8 points on 4-of-11 shooting on attempts he contested over the first four quarters. — Michael C. Wright

Two statistical indicators from Game 1:

For Oklahoma City, Chet Holmgren’s relative offensive absence is a major concern. Holmgren scored just eight points on 2-for-7 shooting, which continued a season-long struggle against San Antonio: In the regular season, Holmgren averaged just 10.5 points (his second lowest against any opponent) with a 16% usage rate (his lowest against any opponent).

The Thunder clearly need more from Holmgren, who averaged 18.6 PPG on 60% shooting — including an astonishing 97% inside five feet, per ESPN Research — in the first two rounds of the postseason. Particularly when Wembanyama matches up against a Thunder guard, leaving a smaller defender on Holmgren, the Thunder All-Star big needs to be more involved in the offense and more forceful down low.

On the other end, Wembanyama was exactly that forceful down low. Only two of his 25 field goal attempts on Monday were 3-point attempts; for context, Wembanyama averaged eight 3-point attempts for every 25 shots he took in the regular season.

But not against the Thunder. Wembanyama’s 3-point attempt rate against Oklahoma City was far lower than against every other opponent this year, as San Antonio placed Wembanyama down low more often to take advantage of his size mismatch against the likes of Jalen Williams and Caruso.

Wembanyama’s 3-point range is still helpful in some circumstances — see, most obviously, his game-tying pull-up in overtime in Game 1. But he’s spending the vast majority of his time against Oklahoma City, putting more stress on the basket, rather than from beyond the arc. — Zach Kram

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Wemby posterizes Holmgren for an emphatic and-1 in 2OT

Wemby posterizes Holmgren for an emphatic and-1 in 2OT