NBA Basketball BETTING PREVIEW - Oklahoma City Thunder @ San Antonio Spurs

NBA Basketball

2026-05-28 - Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs

A Sports Betting Preview by FirstDown

Oklahoma City Thunder @ San Antonio Spurs
United States : NBA Basketball Playoffs Western Conference Finals Game 6
Thursday 28th May 2026 - Scheduled 8:30pm EST
1:30am (British Time)

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Preview

When you look at Victor Wembanyama and the size he has over most in the NBA you can be forgiven for forgetting that he is still a young player in the League and one who has never played in the pressurised environment of the post-season before 2026.

With that in mind, it cannot be a surprise when the superstar has a 'learning game' and that is what Game 5 will feel like for Wembanyama and for the fans.

There is no doubting that Wemby has a real desire to be seen as the best basketball player in the world and he has all of the tools to become that- some have put pressure on the Frenchman to crown himself by helping the San Antonio Spurs reach the NBA Finals, but they are now a game away from elimination... And that has a lot to do with an awful outing from Victor Wembanyama.

He was bullied out of the paint and a 4-15 shooting day is not going to cut it, while the Spurs missed Victor Wembanyama's presence around the boards on both ends of the floor. The role players tried to keep the Spurs going, but San Antonio are well aware that Wembanyama needs to be operating at his best if they are going to win the Western Conference Finals.

It was a dud in Game 5 and the Spurs lost- the two best performances produced by Victor Wembanyama in this Series in Game 1 and Game 4 have both ended in San Antonio wins and they will need him to give all that he has to force this Series back to Oklahoma City for a decider.

Minor adjustments have to be made and you have to think the Spurs Coaching staff are going to encourage Victor Wembanyama to take more control at both ends of the court. It has been a tough, physical Series and there were signs of some wear and tear, but being back at home offers everyone on the San Antonio roster a boost.

The defending Champions Oklahoma City Thunder will be much more grateful for the poor effort produced by Wemby considering their own star Shai-Gilgeous Alexander also put together a below par effort. He still contributed plenty, but the Spurs would have looked at that SGA stat-line and feel they have missed an opportunity to get in front and close out this Conference Finals at home on Thursday.

Both Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell missed out- the latter is going to miss Game 6 and the former remans Questionable.

Despite those absences, the Oklahoma City Thunder will have been pleased with the way the bench kept the team in front of the San Antonio Spurs and held off some of the rallies.

Four of the five starters scored at least 12 points, while Alex Caruso recovered from a poor Game 4 to produce 22 points from the bench.

The Thunder have to expect a reaction and the role players have tended to find things more challenging on the road. Oklahoma City had the edges in terms of efficiency of the three point shooting and also won on the glass and that will give them encouragement, although the team will likely need more as they look to reach the NBA Finals and earn some rest before those begin next week.

Teams that have won Game 5 have tended to back that up in Game 6 and those in a close out spot are 6-1 against the spread in the last seven games when this situation has come up.

However, Number 1 Seeds have not been the best to back when they have been set as small favourites or underdogs and there is almost certainly going to be some kind of reaction from Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs.

They missed an opportunity in Game 5, but the fans are going to be right behind the Spurs and that should help this team at least force a one game decider back out on the road this weekend.

Covering will be tough, but this is a Spurs team that will be listening to the criticism and they can come out with more authority from the opening tip as they did in Game 4 here.

Prediction

Lay the points with the home favourite in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, which have been a back and forth affair.

The Pick :

San Antonio Spurs 114-109 Oklahoma City Thunder

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back San Antonio Spurs - 3.5 Points at -110 with Bovada