PARIS (France) - There will be a Game 7 in the first NBA playoff series featuring two 60-win teams since 1998. Everything is on the line. Win or go home.
The Thunder’s quest for back-to-back NBA titles now comes down to a perilous Game 7 at home against Victor Wembanyama and the young Spurs.
It’s not the first time the two 2026 NBA MVP finalists have faced each other in an elimination game with major stakes attached.
At the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France and Canada met in the Quarter-Finals.
This time, Wembanyama was playing at home - and he got the win.
But the story is more complex than that.
France entered the knockout stage after a very difficult group phase. Les Bleus escaped with a miracle overtime win against Japan thanks to Matthew Strazel’s incredible four-point play at the end of regulation, before getting blown out by Germany a few days later.
Canada, on the other hand, cruised through the group stage and looked every bit like a gold-medal contender.
Everything changed at Bercy in Paris.
And Wembanyama was not even the main factor against Canada. He scored only seven points, though he still contributed 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals. Instead, role players Guerschon Yabusele (22 points) and Isaiah Cordinier (20 points) carried the French offense, while Vincent Collet’s defensive game plan completely disrupted Canada.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 27 points in nearly 37 minutes, but the rest of Team Canada struggled offensively and had no answer for the physical presence of Yabusele and Mathias Lessort in the paint.
Against all odds, Wembanyama and France eliminated Gilgeous-Alexander and Canada to advance to the Olympic Final, where they eventually claimed the silver medal.
Gilgeous-Alexander had now fallen short of reaching the Final both at the 2023 World Cup and at the Paris Olympics.
He would later find redemption by winning the 2025 NBA championship, along with NBA MVP and Finals MVP honors.
But can Wembanyama spoil the party once again in 2026?
FIBA