Jun 5, 2026 16 min read day after report

"It Was a Failure." The Days After Report, pt. 2

Recapping Game 7, and the 2025-26 Oklahoma City Thunder season

After losing to the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, fans and media have been asking questions about what went wrong and what's next for the Thunder.

OKC has responded to those questions in their exit interviews. Here is part 2 of our report from the immediate aftermath of Oklahoma City's season.

Part 1

"It just wasn't enough." The Days After Report, pt. 1

In part 1, I noted: Oklahoma City was within two points of San Antonio in the fourth quarter, with a chance to return to the championship round for the second straight year. The Year of 2 was still within reach: Shai, #2, the two-time MVP leading the 2-point revolution on a two-peat title quest with only two of the Thunder's three best players available. Jalen Williams was on the bench, as he had been for almost the entire series. Shai was at the scorer's table, waiting to check in with just under 11 minutes to go.

They never got within 2 points again.

The Thunder could have won this series. They could have made their second arrival: this time, among the all-time greatest teams to ever play the sport.¹

So why didn't they?

If there must be a scapegoat, everyone is ready to point at Chet Holmgren.

If there's an excuse to be had, it's Williams' injury.²

Mark Daigneault and the players have refused to point at either.

OKC didn't use Williams' injury as an excuse during the regular season. They didn't shrug their shoulders when he went down, again and again, in the postseason. They swept the Suns and the Lakers, then pushed the Spurs to seven games. They didn't play like they couldn't win without Shai or Chet playing at their best, either. They won three Western Conference Finals games without an A+ performance from any of the big three.

I gotta tell you, rewatching that fateful fourth quarter isn't as encouraging as contextualizing the series on paper. (Shocker, I know.) Not because the Thunder came up short, but because of the missed opportunities and lack of confidence on naked display. Oklahoma City worked so hard to stay in the game, and in the series, but it almost always felt like they were punching back.