March 26, 2026, 10:04 a.m. CT
Only ahead by two games with nine games left to go, the Oklahoma City Thunder can feel the San Antonio Spurs breathing down their neck for the first seed. We’re seeing an arms race between the NBA’s top two teams.
Finally, one of them blinked. The Thunder dropped a 119-109 loss to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday. That snapped their 12-game win streak. Meanwhile, the Spurs continued to be a win machine with a blowout over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Both teams have rarely lost since the NBA All-Star break. Feels like we’re heading on a collision course where the Thunder and Spurs square off in the Western Conference Finals. In that scenario, whoever has homecourt advantage could determine the winner.
Here’s what the Thunder said about the first seed and how much it matters to them with three weeks to go:
Mark Daigneault
“The home teams in the playoffs win 65% of the time, generally. So obviously, there’s a homecourt advantage. You’d love to have homecourt advantage in as many series as possible. But the question becomes, what do you do with that? I’m not sure focusing on it or the standings, is the way to do it. You have to continue to build the habits and improve through the season.”
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“It’s very important. Not just in the West, in the whole playoffs. We needed Game 7 at home against Denver — which is at the top of the West. If you want to come out of the West, you’re going to have to beat them. We needed it against Indiana to win a championship. It’s as important as everything. Every team in the NBA that makes the playoffs knows that.”
“Personally speaking, I like it. I think last year, I had too much time off before the playoff game and the last game I played in the regular season. So I think I was a little bit rusty going into the playoffs. I just love to play. I get a chance to play a few more games, which will be fun. Just trying to take the right steps every game. Just take what the situation gives us. Last year, we were in a more fortunate situation. This year, San Antonio is close behind us, so we don’t have that luxury.”
Jalen Williams
“For me personally, I don’t really focus on what other people are doing. If I’m being 100. Obviously, I’m not dumb. I know what the standings are. Wherever the chips fall, they fall. I think for me personally, it’s how much better I can get back to myself and how much faster I can feel normal and getting confident when I play out there? Before we have to really win games. That’s a really big one for me. It’s also a luxury. That’s what people want to see. That’s what we want. Where winning really matters in order to get homecourt advantage for the playoffs. It’s not San Antonio-based. It’s about how many wins we can get. That’s what makes it fun and cool. That’s why it’s called the wild, wild West.”