Published
Jun 02, 2026 at 02:47 PM EDT
By Matt Audilet
Contributing Sports Writer
Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs punched their ticket to the 2026 NBA Finals with a thrilling Game 7 victory over the reigning-champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.
During his postgame press conference on Saturday nights, Wembanyama was asked about his relationship with legendary Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.
“That’s a guy who’s got more experience as a coach than almost anybody. And has been through so many things in his career. And so many things right now as El Jefe,” Wembanyama said. “He goes through some things we can’t even imagine. So, I need to call him. I need to see. I need to talk to him because there’s no way I can understand right now how he feels.”
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Wembanyama opened up about his reunion with Popovich during his NBA Finals media day appearance on Tuesday.
“I saw Pop right away when we landed, and the emotion was really something I haven’t felt in a while. I don’t even know since when,” Wembanyama said, via team insider Tom Petrini. “Coming back from this is a challenge and it’s not done yet. We still need to really come back down to earth and realize that we haven’t done the hardest yet, the job isn’t done at all.”
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Wembanyama and the Spurs are four wins away from their ultimate goal as they enter their NBA Finals matchup against the New York Knicks.
Game 1 of the championship series will tipoff at 8:30 p.m. ET from San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center on Wednesday.
