Victor Wembanyama acts as though he’s experienced this situation previously.
On December 28, 2024, during a chilly and wet morning in New York, Wembanyama found himself with free time before the San Antonio Spurs’ charter departure to Minnesota that afternoon. He decided to share a social media post inviting people to meet him at Washington Square Park for chess games.
That morning’s chess session resulted in an even split: two victories, two defeats.
Now, the Spurs and Oklahoma City find themselves engaged in a different type of chess game — the Western Conference finals, with Game 5 scheduled for Tuesday evening at the Thunder’s home venue. The current tally mirrors that New York morning: two victories, two defeats.
Both Spurs coach Mitch Johnson and Thunder coach Mark Daigneault have compared this series’ strategic exchanges to chess, where mental strategy proves equally crucial to physical execution. Wembanyama, who frequently carries his personal chess set while traveling, recognizes this comparison.
“There’s definitely similarities, as in any strategy game,” Wembanyama said after San Antonio’s series-tying 103-82 romp on Sunday night. “It’s fun. It’s very fun. In the playoffs at some point, especially when a series drags on, everybody knows the other team almost by heart. … I would say the coaches hold a lot of this load of the chess match, the coaching staff, all the strategy, it’s a lot.”
Neither team can claim “checkmate” at this stage: San Antonio captured Game 1, Oklahoma City secured Games 2 and 3, while the Spurs claimed Game 4. The aggregate statistics reveal remarkable balance: the Spurs hold a 446-442 scoring advantage, San Antonio shoots 43%, while Oklahoma City connects at 42%. Though individual contests haven’t always been tight — the Thunder’s 15-point Game 3 victory, the Spurs’ 21-point Game 4 triumph — the overall series remains exceptionally competitive.
“The series is 2-2 and basically zero-zero and it’s first to two games now,” Thunder guard and two-time reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I mean, it’s not at the front of our mind, but it is a fact and it is the reality of where we are.”
The even split through four games between these organizations should come as no surprise. These franchises previously clashed in the 2012 and 2014 West championship series — both reaching 2-2 deadlocks after four contests, with the Thunder ultimately prevailing in 2012 and the Spurs claiming victory in 2014.
This marks the seventh occasion when teams with at least 62 regular season victories have faced each other in playoff competition. Among the previous six matchups, three reached 2-2 ties entering Game 5.
In those instances — Chicago-Utah in the 1997 finals, Boston-Los Angeles Lakers in the 1985 finals and Lakers-Milwaukee in the 1972 West finals — the Game 5 victor also captured Game 6 to claim the series.
“Nothing from (Sunday) will carry over in Game 5,” Daigneault said. “That’s a blank slate. We have the same exact opportunity that they do to go get that game. So, we’ve got to win the gaps between the game right now. We’ve got to get recovered, get ourselves mentally back to zero, learn the lessons from (Game 5) that we can apply forward and get ourselves ready to go.”
Spurs president — and former coach — Gregg Popovich clearly maintains familiarity with the locker room layout.
Following San Antonio’s Game 3 loss, Popovich made an unexpected locker room visit after the contest. The entire Spurs roster was present, along with all coaches, general manager Brian Wright, athletic trainers and additional staff.
Popovich stepped away from coaching duties after suffering a stroke in 2024. While his voice volume has diminished from previous levels, his messages continue to carry significant weight throughout the organization when he chooses to speak.
“Pop’s been around throughout the course of the season, but that was the first time he walked into the locker room and was like, ‘Nah, that’s BS. That’s not how we play basketball,’” Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox said in a televised postgame interview on NBC. “And obviously, he had some choice words for it, but that was the first time all season that he came into the locker room right after a game and told us how he felt. And everybody felt that.”
The Spurs faced one-point deficits on three early Game 4 occasions, the final instance at 8-7. San Antonio responded with 16 consecutive points to establish command and maintain control throughout.
Perhaps Popovich excels at chess as well.
“When you get into these series, we spoke pregame about the chess match and you can get into a little bit of a whirlwind in terms of, ‘Do I adjust and counter?’ or ‘Do I just want to do it better?’” Johnson said. “And both answers are right.”
