Victor Wembanyama scored 41 points and grabbed 24 rebounds to lead the San Antonio Spurs past the Oklahoma City Thunder, 122-115, in double overtime in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Monday night.
Wembanyama produced the best game of his career minutes after watching Shai Gilgeous-Alexander accept his second consecutive Most Valuable Player award before tip-off at Paycom Center. Wembanyama campaigned openly for the award during the season and finished third in the voting behind Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said the ceremony provided motivation.
"He's competitive," Johnson said. "If you're a competitor and you see another competitor get rewarded with what you want, that's motivation. We all get motivated by different things. As a competitive person, that would be my approach and perspective."
Wembanyama was asked whether watching Gilgeous-Alexander receive the trophy carried extra meaning.
"It feels like I've still got a lot to learn," Wembanyama said. "I want to get that trophy many times in my career."
Wemby on whether Game 1 was personal after watching Shai win MVP 😤 pic.twitter.com/dTSTEuOMTo
— ESPN (@espn) May 19, 2026
He was also asked whether he considers himself the best player in the league.
"The world is 8 billion people," Wembanyama said. "That's 8 billion opinions."
At 22 years, 134 days old, Wembanyama became the youngest player in NBA history to record at least 40 points and 20 rebounds in a playoff game. He is the first player since Wilt Chamberlain in 1960 to post a 40-20 game in his conference finals debut.
Wembanyama shot 14-of-25 from the field, made 12 of 13 free throws and blocked three shots in nearly 49 minutes, a career high. He attempted two 3-pointers and made one.
That make tied the game at 108. Trailing late in the first overtime, Wembanyama pulled up from roughly 27 feet in transition to force a second extra period. The Spurs led by 10 in the fourth quarter before surrendering the advantage.
It was the sixth Game 1 in NBA playoff history to reach double overtime and the first since a Spurs-Warriors meeting in 2013.
"It was like sheer willpower," Wembanyama said. "Everything was going really fast tonight. I wasn't really thinking."
The Thunder had not lost a postseason game since Game 6 of last year's NBA Finals and swept the first two rounds. The Spurs held Oklahoma City's offense down for most of regulation, then survived a finish that featured 10 lead changes and eight ties.
San Antonio outrebounded Oklahoma City, 61-40. Wembanyama posted a plus-16, the best mark in the game.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 24 points, 12 assists and 5 steals. He shot 7-of-23 from the field, including 1-of-5 for 4 points in the first half.
Dylan Harper started in place of the injured De'Aaron Fox and scored 24 points with 11 rebounds and seven steals. Stephon Castle added 17 points and 11 assists. Castle said in a postgame television interview that Wembanyama is the best player in the world.
Jalen Williams scored 26 points for Oklahoma City in his return from a six-game absence with a hamstring strain. Alex Caruso added 31 off the bench, hitting 8-of-14 from 3-point range. Chet Holmgren scored eight.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said his team has faced this learning process before.
"He's a great player with high impact, obviously, and when you play against those players, it's kind of an acquired thing," Daigneault said. "You're learning as you go. We've gone through that with other great players."
The Spurs took home-court advantage and improved to 5-1 against the Thunder this season. They are the fifth team in NBA history to win five of its first six meetings against the team that owned the league's best regular-season record.
Game 2 is Wednesday night in Oklahoma City.
"The message would be that we as a team are ready to go into any environment, in any place, against anybody," Wembanyama said. "And even though we've still got a lot to learn, our effort should be over anybody else's. And tonight, we were relentless."
