'Guys Stepping Up': How Wemby's Brothers, So-Called Others, Brought Spurs to Finals

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Spurs jumped out to an early lead in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, but it wasn't going to last forever against the defending champs in their building.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played his best game of the series and led the charge as Oklahoma City stormed all the way back from a 14-point deficit. He hit a pair of free throws with 8:39 left in the third quarter to put the home team up three.

It could have been the moment that the experience took over for a Thunder team that had won six playoff series in a row. It could have been the moment that one of the loudest arenas in sports infused their team's incredible collection of role players with the vibrational energy necessary to close it out and advance to the NBA Finals.

Instead, it was the last time Oklahoma City led in the 2025-26 season.

Victor Wembanyama earned his Western Conference Finals MVP trophy, but the reason the Spurs exceeded all expectations to reach this point is that they have built an incredible team around him.

"It's been the same thing all year. It's different people's nights and different people's moments at different times, and they've all embraced that," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. "Players did what they've been doing all year, and they met the biggest moment that's been in front of them up to this point, and there's some pretty cool memories I'll take away from that."

Champagnie Showers

The player who wrestled control back from the Thunder wasn't the guy who many consider to be the best prospect in basketball history, the number one pick of all number one picks; it was an undrafted sharpshooter who thought he might be out of the league just a few years ago.

Julian Champagnie hit a corner 3 to tie the game at 63, starting an immaculate two-minute and 17-second stretch of game time that changed basketball history. Inches from the Thunder bench, he turned to face them and asked them politely to shush.

He earned three free throws from the same spot, then hit a 3 from the top of the key, then crashed the offensive glass leading to a basket by Dylan Harper. Champagnie snagged a board on the defensive end, and Harper found him in that same spot up top for yet another triple.

San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie (30) reacts in the second half during game six of the western conference finals. — May 28, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie (30) reacts in the second half during game six of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

Wembanyama influenced every one of those plays with his gravity, then hit a 3 to cap a 16-2 Spurs run that turned a three-point deficit into an 11-point advantage, an advantage they would never lose control of.

"Julian's amazing," Wembanyama said. "He deserves everything that he gets, and he's the type of guy that makes you want to die for him on the court, because he gives so much effort, and he's got such an amazing story. He got cut in the NBA a few years back. He's had tough moments, but he keeps pushing, and now he's taking his team to the NBA Finals."

Julian Champagnie (20 PTS, 6-10 3PM) played a HUGE part in the @spurs' Game 7 win tonight!

He joins Klay Thompson (2016) and Stephen Curry (2x) as the only players in NBA history to knock down 6+ 3PM in a Conference Finals Game 7 🚨 pic.twitter.com/zoWkyAmR3p
— NBA (@NBA) May 31, 2026

One of the biggest internal adjustments the Spurs made this year was promoting Champagnie to the starting lineup over seasoned veteran Harrison Barnes. 20 points in Game 7 is a storybook moment in the life of a young man who got cut by the 76ers in 2023 so that Mac McLung could wear a Philadelphia jersey in the dunk contest.

"I thought it was over. I ain't gonna lie," Champagnie said at the podium, decked out in NBA Finals gear. "I was always told how small the window is to put your foot in the league and stay there... getting waived with no warning, no nothing, no explanation or anything it's.. it was tough... I was gonna chase my dreams and telling myself you could do this. Obviously I had no clue where I was gonna end up. My agent told me it could be anywhere, ended up obviously ended up being in San Antonio."

Julian Champagnie thought his career was over when he got cut at 22

As a fellow New Yorker, incredibly special to ask this kid from Brooklyn what it means to play his first NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden pic.twitter.com/LQ0iJFF2P0
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) May 31, 2026

The Spurs picked Champagnie up a few months before the ping-pong balls bounced their way and they landed Wembanyama, and gave him a multi-year contract. That contract, which gave Champagnie a safe home in the NBA for the first time, has turned into one of the most valuable contracts in the league. It's a testament to how hard he's worked, how he never stopped chasing this dream.

"I put my head down and said, make it work, whatever they give you, make it work, whatever they need you to do, make it work, and just find that spot on the team," Champagnie said. "I feel like the best thing about me is I try to just fit it where I can, and I think that's what I did when I got here, and it's been treating me good so far. I love my teammates, love the coaching staff, love everybody at the organization. It's a great place to be. There's no better place that I could be, honestly and truly. So big, big shout out to San Antonio, giving an opportunity to a kid from Brooklyn."

San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie (30) holds the NBA Western Conference Finals trophy. — May 30, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie (30) holds the NBA Western Conference Finals trophy after defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in game seven of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The Spurs are glad they gave him that chance, because he's proven himself to be a core part of the identity of this team. They might not be in the Finals if they hadn't picked him up as they muddled through their worst season in decades. He was a team-high +16 after hitting six 3-pointers, the most in a Western Conference Finals Game 7 by anyone not named Steph Curry.

"Julian has been phenomenal," Mitch Johnson said. "He's had games where he's missed shots and he's had double-digit rebounds. His spacing causes gravity, whether he makes shots or not. And at times we haven't scored, he's made huge shots. He's been an absolute unsung hero... Julian has been an integral part of our team defense, team rebounding, and all that leads to us being fast, which is our best version of our offense, and when he's the recipient, he usually makes it, but he's been absolutely phenomenal."

Luke Kornet's Greatest Kontest

The Spurs had seven players average 10 points or more during the regular season, and all seven of them reached double figures in Game 7.

The biggest play of the night, however, belonged to a reserve big man who focuses on the dirty work and played just six minutes total.

San Antonio brought Luke Kornet in as a free agent last summer to shore up the center minutes behind Wembanyama on the depth chart. In the guts of the fourth quarter of Game 7, one of the only Spurs with a championship ring saved the game.

Wembanyama tried to block Thunder 7-footer Isaiah Hartenstein and picked up his fifth foul with 7:50 remaining, putting him on thin ice for the rest of the game. With 6:48 left and a 6-point lead that felt very unsafe, Mitch Johnson called timeout and gave Wembanyama a breather. It turns out, the foul trouble was meant to be.

"In a way it probably saved me from myself in terms of he probably needed a break, and I probably wouldn't have given him one if I didn't have to because of the fouls," Johnson said. "Obviously playing Monday-morning quarterback Luke was awesome, so it feels good now."

The first play of Kornet's stint didn't go right. Harper tried to enter the ball to the big man, but the pass got tipped away and Hartenstein took off to the basket. Kornet didn't panic; he sprinted.

"Never seen Luke run that fast, I've never seen it," Champagnie said with a smile. "He was hauling, man, he was hauling."

Hartenstein went up, and Kornet did too.

"Honestly, I thought he was about foul, you talk about playoff fouls and things of that nature," De'Aaron Fox said.

Instead, the man who played six minutes blocked it clean, pinned it against the glass. A dunk would have made it a four-point game, a free throw on top would have made it one possession, and instead the Spurs sent the ball the other way and scored to make it eight. Instead of giving the Thunder and their crowd life, Kornet's block felt and sounded like he front kicked 19,000 people in the solar plexus at the same time.

Wemby and the Spurs were HYPED after this Luke Kornet SWAT! https://t.co/J6o1cWZ8t9 pic.twitter.com/QdoHVvUjBo
— NBA (@NBA) May 31, 2026

"Shout out to Luke, I think that was the biggest play of the game, honestly," Champagnie said. "I think that took out all the life in the building. That play right there kind of gave us the step we needed to just keep the lead and push it."

"That changes the course of the game, and that is probably one of the bigger plays that we've had in the season," Fox said. "When you have plays like that throughout the course of the game, throughout the course of the series, those can be momentum shifters, and that could have been a momentum shifter in this game, and Luke saved us from that."

Earlier in the game, Wembanyama had waved off a substitution to stay in for an extra few seconds. With the game hanging in the balance, Wemby watched from the bench as Kornet saved it.

"I was so, so stoked, I was so proud of him, so happy," Wembanyama said. "That's the definition of a winning play, whoever wanted it more."

In a winner-take-all Game 7, Victor Wembanyama rested only six minutes. San Antonio did some French Vanilla earlier in the series, but mainly kept it to one center.

"It's unfair to Luke, because his minutes basically are non-Victor minutes," Johnson "He's been phenomenal in some games, and that's a huge moment for us, because obviously that's where teams a lot of time try to take advantage."

The Thunder did indeed try to take advantage when Wembanyama was off the floor, winning those minutes by 36 points over the course of the series. Just when it looked like a minute-long rest might doom San Antonio's season, Kornet made the biggest play of his life.

Ask any Spur who their funniest teammate is, and they'll likely point to Luke. The big man and occasional blogger put his signature wit on display in the locker room.

“Someone from the bench yelled, ‘Who is it? LeBron James?’ We’ll see which one has more staying power in the record books of history,” Kornet joked after the game.

Spurs center Luke Kornet, on the reaction to his game-changing chase-down block: “Someone from the bench yelled, ‘Who is it? LeBron James?’ We’ll see which one has more staying power in the record books of history.” pic.twitter.com/pnqVw8ymKX
— Spurs Nation (@Spurs_Nation) May 31, 2026

Glass, Guts, and San Antonio's Sixth Men

Kornet's block, almost universally recognized as the biggest play of the game, needed one more element to end the threat posed by the Thunder: a defensive rebound.

That's an area where San Antonio struggled mightily in the first half, losing that battle 26-14 as OKC grabbed nine extra chances for themselves.

"The rebounding was big," Mitch Johnson said. "The first half, we were giving way too many extra opportunities on the glass when we actually did a decent job defensively."

Whatever Johnson said about that at halftime worked. The Spurs won the boards 26-12 in the second half, and came up with some timely ones that shifted the outcome. On Kornet's block, it was rookie guard Dylan Harper who fought for the loose ball and sent it the other way. Harper grabbed five of his team-high seven rebounds in the second half.

"Rebounds are the way you win games, rebounds are the way you stay on the floor," said Harper, who finished the game at +9 behind only Champagnie on San Antonio's side. "I knew that late in the clock, late in the game, if there's one way they were gonna get back in the game, it's by rebounding. So, I kind of made that emphasis to go out there and rebound."

"We've had moments all game and series where Dylan Harper's having big rebounds," Johnson said. "Guys are stepping up and making big plays to complete possessions, whether that's knocking down shots, getting offense rebounds, or finishing with rebounds, and it's just been fun to watch and trying to help them out and be in the trenches with them."

The biggest play that didn't show up in the stat sheet was in the first half when Alex Caruso threw Castle to the floor on a nasty foul that incensed the second-year star. His rookie teammate Harper practically tackled Castle to prevent him from going after Caruso and getting tossed from the game.

Me and the homie about to go down the tandem water slide: pic.twitter.com/KzUZgX19vp
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) May 31, 2026

If Harper comes off the bench next season, he might open as a favorite to win the Sixth Man of the Year award. Currently, his teammate Keldon Johnson holds the title. The longest-tenured Spur didn't have the strongest showing in the Conference Finals, but in the fourth quarter of the 12th matchup of the year between these teams he came up huge. He swished two quick triples at the start of the period to hold off a Thunder run, then screamed down the court for a huge left-handed lay.

"Big minutes," Champagnie said of his teammate. "I always tell Keldon it's not always about scoring, to lock in and bring the energy because that's what he does, and he does it really well. He stepped into the moment, made two big threes, big drive, big layup, so, shout out to K. We know we need everybody tonight, everybody who touched the court we needed tonight, every little thing that we did right, we needed."

Champagnie stepped to the side for his final 3-pointer late in the fourth. He tried another a few possessions later, and as the Thunder worked to keep Wembanyama off the glass Harper soared in to collect the miss and place it into the hoop in one fluid, floating motion. The Thunder called timeout, and Harper and Castle grabbed each other and shared a beautiful moment as the Loud City crowd groaned and began to truly feel that it might be over.

Dylan Harper & Stephon Castle are locked in. 🤣🙌 pic.twitter.com/FklJwAR45q
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) May 31, 2026

"It's a blessing," Harper said. "I think just answering the call, that's kind of what I've always done, is just put myself in that position, and just double down on myself every time. I mean, my teammates, coaching staff, everyone does a great job of empowering me to go out there and make plays and be myself. When the time comes, I think, for me, I just kind of go out there, and I just trust my instincts."

With under four minutes left and the shot clock winding down, Harper's instincts told him to let it fly. Those instincts were correct, as he swished a dagger 3 right through the heart of Oklahoma City. Asked earlier in the playoffs where he got his confidence and swagger from, Harper said that the confidence comes from the work he puts in, and the swagger he was just born with.

May 30, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper (2) reacts in the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder during game seven of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

When the Spurs drafted Harper, many wondered if there would be enough shooting on the floor around Wemby between the slashing rookie, Castle, and Fox. Those concerns have been dead and buried for a long time.

"I think it's worked damn good from the start of the season to now," Fox said. "Guys are willing to learn, and guys are so selfless. Obviously, we've all been in a position where we have the ball pretty much all the way, and learning to play without the ball, learning to play with other great players, I think one makes you better as a player, makes you more dynamic as a player, and two, we have so much talent, it gives us a great, great chance to win. Dylan's been great since the day he walked in the building, he's gonna be, he's already a hell of a player, but he's gonna be a hell of a player throughout the course of his career. He's gonna be an All-Star, All-NBA, gonna be that type of player."

All Together Now

From the opening basket he banked in to the final drive by the MVP who threw it away rather than test the alien, Wembanyama put his gigantic hands all over this game. But unlike SGA, Wemby had nine guys around him who contributed to the win.

Fox steadied San Antonio's ship, and Castle knocked the Thunder off balance. Even the guys who played fewer minutes than Kornet made an impact. Rookie wing Carter Bryant finished an incredibly-tough layup between two Thunder defenders.

On the other end of the experience spectrum, champion, gold medalist, and birthday boy Harrison Barnes brought a lot of knowledge and a little bit of luck. No NBA player has lost a Game 7 on their birthday, and that odd fact remains true. He finished the season at 9.9 points per game after sacrificing his role so that Champagnie could ascend.

"We love being around each other on and off the court," Fox said. "Whenever you're playing with guys who are selfless and this talented, it makes whenever you step on the court even better, because you know that you don't have to go out there and do anything outside of yourself."

Devin Vassell has played demonic defense all series, and this wasn't his night shooting the basketball. When Wemanyama blew up that final possession by the Thunder, Fox passed the ball ahead to Vassell. OKC had already given up at that point, but Vassell leapt and cocked back a two-handed exclamation point just to be safe. That gave him 11 points for the game, meaning all seven Spurs who averaged double figures in the regular season got there in the biggest game of the season.

I think the Thunder players and the entire crowd were all so stunned they forgot to be mad about this https://t.co/Wh044h9xpY
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) May 31, 2026

Many fans and talking heads questioned San Antonio's championship pedigree because none of the team's seven double-figure scorers had been here before. Fox was the only one with any playoff experience, a single series. They didn't care about any of that when they looked across the court at the defending champions.

"We had seen them a bunch during the season, and they're a great team, so credit to them, they have the MVP, that's what it is, so we got to respect that and play to them honestly every time we play them," Champagnie said. "But going into the first game we played them, which was the Cup game, we just told ourselves, we instilled the thought in our minds that we can beat them, and that there's no team that's better than us when we're locked in. I still feel like that's just a true statement, and that's just what we're living and dying by, young or not, experienced or not, that's just how we're moving."

As Mitch Johnson has said all year, experience isn't the end all be all.

"People won't talk about as much the habits, the character, the togetherness, the competitive response, the things we talk about in these media sessions every single day," Johnson said. "This team has now been pretty damn consistent for a long time, for over 100 games."

"With the experience that we've gone through, and you want to look back in terms of how we started the year, and we got to the Cup on the road versus Denver and LA, what we did in the cup, playing [OKC] around Christmas time a few times, expectations, played in three playoff series without Victor, without Fox, multiple games. I don't know who has as much experience as we do this year in the season of 2025-26."

San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson reacts in the second quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder. — May 30, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson reacts in the second quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder during game seven of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

That crucible has hardened this young, now no-longer-inexperienced group into a formidable foe for years to come.

"Our confidence is through the roof," Harper said. "I think we all trust each other, and that's the biggest thing if you want to kind of get over humps like we did, and confidence, and just being ourselves. I kind of seen the pieces, and what we could do is just endless. Just proud of our guys, and I think that this is just the beginning of some really special."

It takes a village to reach the NBA Finals, especially with a team this young group trying to do something that has really never been done before. The village elders, who aren't exactly old, have provided a perfect balance.

"Vic, Steph, Dylan, Carter, those guys are obviously super young, and then we have KJ, who's been in the league for seven years... I think six for Devin, so we have some guys that play in the league and haven't had these playoff runs," Fox said. "For us it's trying to bring a calm presence to what could get chaotic. Whenever you're out there and something doesn't go well, you try to let your talent take over, and we try to keep that not necessarily to a minimum, but we want to continue to play the right way, and talent will naturally take over, rather than things aren't going well, and you want your talent to just be pushed to the forefront."

Vassell's dunk ended OKC's season and started a celebration on the court for San Antonio, a group hug that grew in size as it collected each member of the Spurs family like a raindrop rolling down a windshield.

The San Antonio Spurs celebrate with the Oscar Robertson trophy after defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in game seven. — May 30, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; The San Antonio Spurs celebrate with the Oscar Robertson trophy after defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in game seven of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

It's common to refer to a star player's teammates as 'the others' in sports, reducing them to a nameless supporting cast. Victor Wembanyama would add two letters and a whole lot of love when talking about his brothers.

"There's so many big-time plays, so many guys stepping up," Wembanyama said. "Oh my god, it's an unreal chance, you know, my life is amazing, and being with these guys, living these things with these guys that I love so, so, so much, it's amazing. I want to have this feeling plenty, plenty more times in my life."

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