{"id":1977,"date":"2026-05-31T07:05:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T07:05:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=1977"},"modified":"2026-05-31T07:05:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T07:05:45","slug":"wembanyama-wins-west-finals-mvp-and-looks-ahead-to-nba-finals-matchup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=1977","title":{"rendered":"Wembanyama wins West finals MVP, and looks ahead to NBA Finals matchup"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) \u2014 When the Western Conference finals started, Victor Wembanyama watched Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hoist a Most Valuable Player trophy that the San Antonio Spurs star desperately wanted.<\/p>\n

Read more Athletics get wrong end of an apparent ABS mistake against the Yankees<\/a><\/p>\n

Wembanyama left the series with an MVP trophy of his own \u2014 and a whole lot more.<\/p>\n

The French standout \u2014 in just his third season \u2014 has led the Spurs to the NBA Finals. The newly crowned Western Conference finals MVP had 22 points in a Game 7 win at Oklahoma City, one that gave San Antonio a chance to play for the NBA title for the first time since 2014. It\u2019ll be San Antonio vs. New York in the NBA Finals, starting Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cWinning the Larry O\u2019Brien, it\u2019s a childhood dream,\u201d Wembanyama said, referring to the name of the trophy given to the NBA champions. \u201cAnd having a real shot at it, having a chance, a tangible chance at winning it and realizing a dream \u2026 it\u2019s a lifetime chance. You never know when it\u2019s going to happen again.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to put into words. It\u2019s almost like the meaning of my life now.\u201d<\/p>\n

He averaged 27.3 points and 10.9 rebounds in the series, scoring at least 20 points in every game. He set the tone with a 41-point effort in a Game 1 win, then did a little of everything \u2014 dunks, blocks, playing point guard even \u2014 to keep control on the way to the Game 7 win. He was the unanimous pick as series MVP, which should be no surprise. He carried that trophy into the locker room after the game, screaming in joy at supporters and teammates.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou work all these hours, it\u2019s for these type of emotions,\u201d Wembanyama said. \u201cI want to win so bad. It\u2019s like my life depends on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the night he was drafted, Wembanyama talked about all the things he knew about San Antonio. Breakfast tacos, which he couldn\u2019t wait to try. Spanish, which he said he wanted to learn. The culture, which he said he wanted to embrace.<\/p>\n

Read more Virginia bus crash kills parents, 2 children traveling to wedding; NC-based bus company\u2019s driver is charged<\/a><\/p>\n

And, of course, the winning.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ring,\u201d Wembanyama said that night.<\/p>\n

The ring. The championship ring. Not even three years since leaving France and coming to the U.S., Wembanyama is about to get his first chance to play for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best player in the world,\u201d Spurs forward Keldon Johnson yelled at no one in particular, but making clear everyone knew who he was talking about.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t get that NBA MVP trophy. But it wouldn\u2019t be difficult to say Wembanyama indeed is the best player in the world. Or at the very least, will be soon. He might not even be near his prime yet. The Spurs are young and built for the long haul.<\/p>\n

Translated: This may just be the start.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you step into a game in regular season, you don\u2019t even look at the big picture of the season. You look at what you need to do tonight, what you have to do in the first half, on the first possession,\u201d Wembanyama said. \u201cAnd when you lay a brick like this every time you get a chance and you lay it perfectly fine, at the end of the day you get a big castle \u2014 a beautiful house and we just did. This, it\u2019s just like the entry hall of our castle right here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Chapel Hill mom of student in yearbook omission writes a book, advocates inclusion<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP NBA: https:\/\/apnews.com\/nba<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) \u2014 When the Western Conference finals started, Victor Wembanyama watched Shai Gilgeous-Alexander…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1976,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nWembanyama wins West finals MVP, and looks ahead to NBA Finals matchup - Raleigh Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=1977\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wembanyama wins West finals MVP, and looks ahead to NBA Finals matchup - Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) \u2014 When the Western Conference finals started, Victor Wembanyama watched Shai Gilgeous-Alexander...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=1977\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-31T07:05:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=1977#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=1977\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\"},\"headline\":\"Wembanyama wins West finals MVP, and looks ahead to NBA Finals matchup\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-31T07:05:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=1977\"},\"wordCount\":623,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=1977#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/1aafe41e9202d99fd1f00cc78327851a.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=1977#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=1977\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=1977\",\"name\":\"Wembanyama wins West finals MVP, and looks ahead to NBA Finals matchup - 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