On Chasing History presented by Michelob ULTRA, the Spurs take down the Thunder in Game 7, earning a trip to the NBA Finals.
After knocking off the defending champs, the San Antonio Spurs are back in the NBA Finals for the first time since winning their fifth championship in 2014.
With the Spurs sitting just four wins away from the franchise’s sixth title overall — and first with its young core — we look at five qualities this year’s squad shares with NBA champions of the past.
1. Defying the experience narrative
- Why this trait matters: Weighted by playing time in the 2026 playoffs, San Antonio (25.06 years old) is now the second-youngest team in NBA history to reach the NBA Finals. The Spurs are trying to debunk the axiom that age and experience are required for a championship run.
- This is similar to: Before the Spurs joined the list, the two youngest teams to ever reach the Finals – the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers (still the youngest at 25.03 years old) and the 2025 OKC Thunder (now the third-youngest at 25.56 years old) — both went on to win the championship. Can San Antonio follow suit and make the three youngest Finals teams in history a perfect 3-for-3 in winning it all?
2. Pulling off a historic single-season turnaround
- Why this trait matters: The 2025-26 Spurs finished the regular season at 62-20, a 28-win improvement from their 34-48 finish in 2024-25. While they are the ninth team in NBA history (and third in franchise history) to make a 28-plus win jump from one season to the next, they are only the second team to parlay that single-season turnaround into an NBA Finals berth.
- This is similar to: The other team to reach the Finals after increasing their win total by at least 28 games is the 2007-08 Boston Celtics, who made a record 42-win leap from the previous season. Not only did that resurgence lead to a Finals berth, but the Celtics also completed the turnaround by winning the 2008 championship and the franchise’s 17th title.
3. Having the DPOY anchor the defense
- Why this trait matters: Victor Wembanyama is the 10th Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year winner to appear in the NBA Finals the same season since the award was introduced in 1982-83. That means nearly one in four NBA Finals series (22.7%) have featured that season’s reigning DPOY over the past 44 seasons. During the regular season, Wembanyama led the Spurs to the third-ranked defense (110.4 rating), plus they’ve been even stingier in the playoffs (104.4 rating).
- This is similar to: Of the previous nine DPOYs to appear in the NBA Finals, five have gone on to win the title in that same season. Wembanyama will look to join Golden State’s Draymond Green (2017), Boston’s Kevin Garnett (2008), Houston’s Hakeem Olajuwon (1994), Detroit’s Dennis Rodman (1990) and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Michael Cooper (1987) on that list.
4. Led by a global superstar
- Why this trait matters: Six international players have won Finals MVP honors in NBA history, with each occurring over the past 32 years since Hakeem Olajuwon became the first in 1994. After winning the Western Conference Finals MVP, could Wembanyama follow that with his first Finals MVP?
- This is similar to: Three of the last five Finals MVPs have been international players — Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (2021, Greece), Denver’s Nikola Jokić (2023, Serbia) and OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2025, Canada). Can Wembanayama make it four in six years? He would become the second French player to win the award, joining former Spurs guard Tony Parker (2007, France). Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki (2011, Germany) rounds out the list.
5. Knocking off a 64+ win team
- Why this trait matters: Entering this season, only 28 teams had ever won 64-plus games in the regular season. Of those 28 teams, 20 reached the NBA Finals in the same year, with 17 winning the title. Only eight teams that won 64 or more games in the regular season were defeated before the Finals. That number increased to nine with San Antonio beating the defending champion Thunder in the West Finals.
- This is similar to: Of the first eight teams to beat a 64+ win team on their path to the Finals, three went on to win the NBA title that same season. In 2018, the 58-win Warriors ousted the 65-win Rockets in the West Finals and went on to secure their third title in four years. In 2006, the 52-win Heat knocked off the 64-win Pistons in the East Finals before capturing the franchise’s first-ever championship. And in 1973, the 57-win Knicks beat the 68-win Celtics in the East Finals on the way to winning their second championship.
