The San Antonio Spurs secured their spot in the 2026 NBA Finals after a 111-103 Game 7 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, led by Western Conference Finals MVP Victor Wembanyama, who has already established himself as a top-three player in the NBA while in his third NBA season.
The 22-year-old center ended the regular season as the first-ever unanimous Defensive Player of the Year and placed third in MVP voting behind eventual winner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic. Wembanyama cited the loss of MVP to Shai as one of the motivating factors for him in the Western Conference Finals, averaging 27.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.4 steals, and 2.7 blocks over the series and outplaying the league MVP.
Wembanyama is proving to be on pace with some of the game’s greatest players with how soon he’s racking up major accomplishments. The series win over the Thunder, and Wembanyama’s crucial role in the win has made him the second-youngest player to lead their team to the NBA Finals, behind Magic Johnson, who did the same at 20 years old with the Los Angeles Lakers.
1. Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers (1980): 20 yrs, 264 days.
2. Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs (2026): 22 yrs, 146 days.
3.LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers (2007): 22 yrs, 169 days.
4. Shaquille O’Neal, Orlando Magic (1995): 23 yrs old, 94 days.
5. Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs (1999): 23 yrs, 61 days.
The NBA introduced the concept of Conference Finals MVPs in 2022, so there have only been five recipients in each Conference since its implementation. Unsurprisingly, Wembanyama is the youngest Conference Finals MVP, surpassing Luka Doncic who led the Dallas Mavericks to the 2024 NBA Finals at 25 years old.
Magic still had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to rely on, who would have won the hypothetical Cofnerence Finals MVP if it existed that year/ So, it could be argued that because Wembanyama is doing this as the sole star, he could be classified as the youngest to ever lead a team to the Finals, surpassing LeBron James‘ run to the 2007 Finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers by just 23 days.
Much has also been made about how young Wembanyama and his surrounding core are. The nine rotational players the Spurs have relied upon in the postseason are Dylan Harper (20), Carter Bryant (20), Stephon Castle (21), Wembanyama (22), Julian Champagnie (24), Devin Vassell (25), Keldon Johnson (26), De’Aaron Fox (28), and Luke Kornet (30). The average age of this nine-man rotation is exactly 24.0 years old, which would rank as the youngest in modern NBA history.
The youngest team to make the NBA Finals ever was the 1976-77 Portland Trail Blazers, with an average age of 25.03, with last year’s OKC Thunder having an average age of 25.56 years old in their championship run. San Antonio’s overall average age is dragged down to 27.4 years old because of veterans such as Lindy Waters III (28), Jordan McLaughlin (30), Bismack Biyombo (33), Harrison Barnes (34), Kelly Olynyk (35), and Mason Plumlee (36) at the end of the bench, with Barnes the only one getting rotational run.
The Spurs are way ahead of schedule, with a majority of their core players being in their early-20s, outside of Fox. This team is already in the NBA Finals in their first-ever Playoff run and has the potential to be a dynasty as they grow together. The fact that this core is made up of players on their rookie contract is even more significant, as Harper, Bryant, Castle, Wembanyama, and Champagnie haven’t reached their second NBA extension yet.
Last year’s Thunder at least had Gilgeous-Alexander on the rookie max contract, which star players usually have from years five to nine in the NBA.
The Spurs have the pieces to make a potential NBA dynasty, but they first need to overcome the New York Knicks in the 2026 NBA Finals to win a stunning championship in their first Playoff run in their current iteration.
