Opinion: We might have just seen Victor Wembanyama’s finest NBA game

Prior to game one of the Western Conference Finals on Monday night, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was awarded with the NBA MVP award from commissioner Adam Silver for the second straight year. The award was presented to Gilgeous-Alexander in front of the NBA’s defensive player of the year, Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs. From what we saw on Monday night in game one of the 2026 Western Conference Finals, the MVP award that Gilgeous-Alexander won could be his last for a while.

The bottom line is Wembanyama was that explosive on the court, and the fact he saw the MVP presentation first hand, might have given him some extra hunger moving forward. The 7’4″, 235 pound giant from Le Chesnay, France, had the best postseason game of his career in a 122-115 Spurs win over the defending NBA champions, in what was Oklahoma City’s first postseason loss of 2026.

Wembanyama had a remarkable double-double. He had 41 points and 24 rebounds (nine offensive rebounds and 15 defensive rebounds). The 24 rebounds were a career-high (regular season and playoffs), and only one rebound less than the Spurs playoff record. Tim Duncan had 25 rebounds on May 14, 2002 in a 93-87 Spurs loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in game five of the Western Conference semifinals.

Game one of the Western Conference Finals was a classic. It was the first postseason game that went into double overtime in five years according to Mike Tirico of NBC Sports. The last time a playoff game went into double overtime was June 1, 2021 as the Denver Nuggets beat the Portland Trail Blazers 147-140 in game five of the Western Conference quarterfinals.