Spurs’ season is lost if Victor Wembanyama doesn’t get back inside

If the San Antonio Spurs hope to bounce back from two straight losses to the Oklahoma City Thunder, then Victor Wembanyama will need to park himself down low on a far more consistent basis. Wembanyama has been dominant at times during this series, but in Game 3, he was both dragged out to the perimeter and seemingly reluctant to get back inside.

It’s a development that has undoubtedly aided the Thunder in their claim of the series lead at 2-1, as Wembanyama is simply less dominant the further away from the basket he plays.

Wembanyama took over Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals with 41 points and 24 rebounds. His control of the interior was critical to the Spurs’ success, as he turned the paint into his personal stomping ground and overwhelmed the Thunder’s heralded interior starters.

Unfortunately, Game 3 was a fairly lopsided loss that can be at least partially attributed to Wembanyama drifting away from the rim—both by Oklahoma City’s design and perhaps his own mistakes.

Wembanyama scored 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting, which is nothing to scoff at. He pulled down a grand total of four rebounds in 39 minutes, however, failing to grab a single offensive board along the way—a far cry from the 24 rebounds and nine offensive boards he managed in Game 1.

Though Game 1 borders on impossible for anyone other than prime Wilt Chamberlain to sustain, Wembanyama needs to find a middle ground to save this series.

Victor Wembanyama had 4 rebounds in 39 minutes in Game 3

Wembanyama pulled down 17 rebounds and blocked four shots during Game 2, which proved his Game 1 dominance was far from a fluke. The Thunder have made it a point to try and pull him away from the paint, however, with a growing emphasis on the three-point shot and physical defense.

The result of the latter approach has been Wembanyama shooting significantly further from the basket on his average shots over the past two games than he did in Game 1.

Wembanyama is clearly skilled enough to play further from the basket and both attempt a healthy diet of jump shots and defend in space. At 7'4", however, one could easily argue that his greatest value in this series is his ability to overwhelm Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Jaylin Williams down low.

Though it's not necessarily a guarantee of success, it's worth noting that the Spurs are 26-5 when Wembanyama has at least 25 points and 10 rebounds between the regular season and playoffs.

Thunder's wins and losses have depended heavily on points in the paint

Furthermore, the Thunder averaged 51.7 points scored in the paint and 40.7 allowed across their 64 wins during the 2025-26 regular season. Those numbers shifted to 40.7 for and 44.8 against during their 18 losses. That's proven relevant during the playoffs.

Between their 10 wins during the 2026 NBA Playoffs, the Thunder have outscored opponents by an average of 48.6 to 41.8 in the paint. Their one loss, Game 1 against the Spurs, saw them lose said battle 52-38.

With these factors in mind, San Antonio must ensure that Wembanyama is consistently in the paint—where no one can avoid his impact. He can still operate in space, but there's simply nothing the Thunder can do against his size, skill set, length, and athleticism when he's under the basket.

If the Spurs want to save their season, then Wembanyama needs to get back inside and ensure that one critical area of the court is all but completely taken away from Oklahoma City.

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