Shaquille O’Neal boldly predicts the young Spurs will outlast the Thunder in the 2026 Western Conference Finals.
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs are currently in second place in the Western Conference, trailing behind the Oklahoma City Thunder. They have demonstrated their ability to compete with the defending champions, winning three of four regular-season matchups.
The Spurs are also 4-1 in their last five games, eighth in the NBA in Net Rating at 7.4, and steamrolled the Mavericks 138-125 in their previous game.
And it is enough to convince Shaquille O’Neal that the Spurs will not only meet the Thunder in the 2026 West Finals, but beat them.
“San Antonio will beat OKC in the Western Conference Finals,” he said on ESPN’s Inside The NBA.
That’s quite a bold prediction for the former NBA player.
Sure, the Spurs have gotten the best of the Thunder in the regular season, but the playoffs are a whole other story and level of play.
This is a young Spurs team that has a core that has yet to sniff the NBA playoffs. Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, Stephon Carter, and Victor Wembanyama have never played beyond the 82-game schedule.
Not to mention, the Spurs will have to navigate through two playoff rounds against teams like Denver, Phoenix, and Minnesota to meet the defending champs, and might have to do it without home-court advantage in OKC.
However, this Spurs team has what it takes to get it done.
San Antonio owns the third-best Defensive Rating in the league at 112.5, is constructed to handle the Thunder, and has veteran anchors like Harrison Barnes, Luke Kornet, Kelly Olynyk, and De’Aaron Fox.
MCCLUNG TO REPLACE DAVID JONES GARCIA AT ALL-STAR WEEKEND
The NBA announced that Chicago Bulls guard Mac McClung will replace injured Spurs guard David Jones Garcia on Team Austin in the 2026 Castrol Rising Stars. Jones Garcia is unable to participate because of a right ankle injury.
The team announced that Jones Garcia is out for the season after suffering a right ankle injury that required surgery. He suffered the injury on Jan. 10 during an Austin Spurs game versus the South Bay Lakers. San Antonio will provide updates as needed.
Garcia stood out for the 2025 Summer League Spurs squad, earning All-Summer League first-team honors, which led to him securing a two-way deal with San Antonio in July 2025.
He appeared in 11 games for San Antonio, averaging 2.9 points per game and 1.6 assists. One of his best performances was against Utah in an overtime thriller, where he scored 20 points.