By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama declined to speak with media members following his side’s Game 5 defeat against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center on Tuesday night.
The loss placed the team coached by Mitch Johnson at a 3–2 deficit in the best-of-seven series during the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2026 NBA Playoffs, presented by Google. A team spokesperson later verified that the French superstar made himself completely unavailable to the press, exiting the locker room shortly before midnight.
His uncharacteristic behavior followed a challenging individual performance on the court. Wemby skipped both the televised postgame press conference podium and the standard postgame locker room scrums after being held to a series-low 20 points on an inefficient 4-of-15 shooting performance from the field.
The Spurs must now pivot quickly as they face their first elimination game of the current postseason on Thursday night. They will host the defending champions at Frost Bank Center in a must-win Game 6. If they manage to secure a victory, a deciding Game 7 will take place in Oklahoma City on Saturday. The eventual Western Conference champion is locked in to host Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks next Wednesday.
NBA Playoffs 2026
Eastern Conference
Quarterfinals (best-of-seven)
Detroit Pistons – Orlando Magic 4-3 (101-112, 98-83, 105-113, 88-94, 116-109, 93-79, 116-94)
Cleveland Cavaliers – Toronto Raptors 4-3 (126-113, 115-105, 104-126, 89-93, 125-120, 110-112, 114-102)
New York Knicks – Atlanta Hawks 4-2 (113-102, 106-107, 108-109, 114-98, 126-97, 140-89)
Boston Celtics – Philadelphia 76ers 3-4 (123-91, 97-111, 108-100, 128-96, 97-113, 93-106, 100-109)
Semifinals (best-of-seven)
Detroit Pistons – Cleveland Cavaliers 3-4 (111-101, 107-97, 109-116, 103-112, 113-117, 115-94, 94-125)
New York Knicks – Philadelphia 76ers 4-0 (137-98, 108-102, 108-94, 144-114)
Finals (best-of-seven)
New York Knicks – Cleveland Cavaliers 4-0 (115-104, 109-93, 121-108, 130-93)
Western Conference
Quarterfinals (best-of-seven)
Oklahoma City Thunder – Phoenix Suns 4-0 (119-84, 120-107, 121-109, 131-122)
Los Angeles Lakers – Houston Rockets 4-2 (107-98, 101-94, 112-108, 96-115, 93-99, 98-78)
Denver Nuggets – Minnesota Timberwolves 2-4 (126-115, 114-119, 96-113, 96-112, 125-113, 98-110)
San Antonio Spurs – Portland Trail Blazers 4-1 (111-98, 103-106, 120-108, 114-93, 114-95)
Semifinals (best-of-seven)
Oklahoma City Thunder – Los Angeles Lakers 4-0 (108-90, 125-107, 131-108, 115-110)
San Antonio Spurs – Minnesota Timberwolves 4-2 (102-104, 133-95, 115-108, 109-114, 126-97, 139-109)
Finals (best-of-seven)
Oklahoma City Thunder – San Antonio Spurs 3-2 (115-122, 122-113, 123-108, 82-103, 127-114)
NBA Finals 2026 (best-of-seven)
Oklahoma City Thunder / San Antonio Spurs – New York Knicks
Make