Spurs Locked In to No. 2 Seed in Western Conference Playoff Bracket

SAN ANTONIO - The Spurs are officially locked in to the 2 seed in the Western Conference and the second-best record in the NBA this season after the Thunder won on Wednesday night.

There was a chance that San Antonio could catch the defending champions until the last two games of the regular season, a remarkable accomplishment for a team that hasn't been in the playoffs since 2019 and was projected by most to be a play-in squad in Victor Wembanyama's third year. Instead, the Spurs have won 61 games and counting and are considered one of the only legitimate challengers to Oklahoma City's reign.

The Spurs ripped off a historic 26-2 stretch starting on February 1, giving the Thunder very little margin for error over the last two months. The bid for the top overall seed will come up just a hair short, but San Antonio will carry a ton of momentum into the postseason as the hottest team in basketball.

The Thunder are the only team that would have home court advantage over the Spurs in a playoff series, as the Pistons can no longer catch San Antonio in the standings.

In the first round of the playoffs San Antonio will face the winner of the 7-8 play-in game, which will be either the Phoenix Suns, the Los Angeles Clippers or the Portland Trail Blazers. All of those teams have played the Spurs hard this year.

The potential second-round matchups are fascinating, with the Denver Nuggets currently in the 3 seed as the Lakers and Rockets attempt to overtake them. San Antonio finishes the season against Denver on Sunday, and that game could end up being very important for the Nuggets.

Wembanyama's late push for the MVP award will likely end with a second-place finish. He suffered a bruised rib on Monday night against the 76ers and missed the following win over Portland, though he seems to be recovering well and his coach says he's not worried that it's a long-term injury. Wemby is currently one game shy of the 65-game minimum for awards, and he'll certainly be Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-NBA as long as he plays 20 minutes against either the Mavericks on Friday or the Nuggets on Sunday.

It would probably be better to do it against a tanking Mavericks team. The Nuggets will likely be playing for playoff seeding in the season finale, and a motivated Jokic might not be the best thing for Wembanyama's ribcage. Additionally, Wemby has only appeared in one of San Antonio's three matchups against Denver so far this season. Limiting the amount of tape Denver has to analyze would be a tactical advantage if these teams do meet in the postseason.