OKC Thunder's Experience Could be Their Greatest Weapon Against Spurs

The Thunder have to take advantage of San Antonio's lack of playoff experience.

May 11, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) controls the ball against Los Angeles Lakers guard Luke Kennard (10) during the second half in game four of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City knows what it takes to win on a stage like this. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder are gearing up for the beginning of the Western Conference Finals, which will tip off on Monday night. The Thunder are set to face the San Antonio Spurs, and are looking to  keep their perfect 8-0 postseason record alive. 

The Thunder and Spurs know each other quite well, as they played five times in the regular season. San Antonio was actually able to get the best of OKC four out of the five times they played, and won three of those games by double-digit points. However, both teams are on a whole new stage, one Oklahoma City is quite familiar with, and one the Spurs are not. 

This will be Oklahoma City’s second straight trip to the Western Conference Finals after winning last year’s against the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games. Additionally, this is the squad’s third straight year in the playoffs, and it’s easy to tell they have become accustomed to the pressure. 

OKC has multiple veteran leaders on its squad, like Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein, to help lead the way as the postseason progresses, as well as players who have shown they can play their best when the lights are brightest. 

Most notably, they have last year’s Finals MVP and now, back-to-back MVP award winner, Shai Gilgeous Alexander. The superstar guard continues to prove that he is in a league above the rest, and has the numbers to show for it. He is leading OKC in scoring in the playoffs with 29.1 points per game, as well as leading the team in assists with 7.1 a night. 

The Thunder’s dominance, combined with their familiarity with the situation, could be their biggest weapon against a young, inexperienced Spurs team. 

The San Antonio Spurs are living the opposite of the Thunder’s life currently, as this is their first postseason appearance since 2019, and their first conference finals since 2017. Now, the Spurs do have exceptional players in the likes of Victor Wembanyma and Stephon Castle, but the only Spurs starter to have ever played in a postseason before this year was De’Aaron Fox. 

This factor hasn’t caused San Antonio to be knocked out just yet, but there are instances in games where their inexperience shines brighter than they would like. When these instances occur in the upcoming series, the Thunder must take advantage of every single one of them. 

Oklahoma City will be looking for every advantage possible to make it back to its second straight finals, and its biggest one might just be that it knows how to get there.