“Guys that really understand the history of the game and want to be great do everything they possibly can to get an advantage.” – Tracy McGrady on San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama
“He’s the MVP. There’s going to be a lot of emphasis put on him to slow him down. It’s up to him to read how the game is being played, whether that’s being aggressive or getting his teammates involved.” – McGrady on Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
“You have to show some type of physical presence against Victor Wembanyama. You may not win the matchup, but you have to compete.” – Carmelo Anthony on Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren
“You don’t see a lot of wasted movement. He’s very efficient and precise in what he does.”– Vince Carter on Wembanyama
STAMFORD, Conn. – May 20, 2026 – The NBA Western Conference Finals on NBC and Peacock continued tonight, beginning with NBC Sports’ live on-site studio program NBA Showtime, leading into coverage of Game 2 between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the defending champion and Western Conference No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder and Victor Wembanyama and the No. 2 San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs lead the series 1-0 after defeating the Thunder, 122-115, in a double overtime thriller on Monday night.
Tonight’s on-site edition of NBA Showtime from Paycom Center in Oklahoma City featured host Maria Taylor alongside Naismith Basketball Hall of Famers Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter, and Tracy McGrady.
Pre-game coverage included the studio team announcing the NBA All-Rookie Teams; Ashley ShahAhmadi’s pre-game interview with Spurs forward Julian Champagnie; Zora Stephenson’s pre-game interview with Thunder guard Alex Caruso; a Twilight Zone-inspired feature on Victor Wembanyama; and Jordan Cornette’s interview at shootaround with Cavaliers guard Max Strus.
Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Reggie Miller and three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford (analysts), and Zora Stephenson and Ashley ShahAhmadi (courtside reporters) are calling Spurs-Thunder.
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Following are highlights from tonight’s NBA Showtime ahead of Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals on NBC and Peacock:
ON SPURS
Carmelo Anthony while watching Victor Wembanyama’s pre-game warmups: “He had a move in Game 1 where he had Chet (Holmgren) on his arm, twisted and turned, and dunked it backward. Those are the kind of movements that these actions allow him to go out and do. He’s dribbling basketballs up the mountains in China and learning kung fu, you get what I’m saying?”
Tracy McGrady on Wembanyama training with monks in China last summer: “Guys that really understand the history of the game and want to be great do everything they possibly can to get an advantage, and that’s jumping out of the ordinary.”
Vince Carter on Wembanyama’s game: “You don’t see a lot of wasted movement. He’s very efficient and precise in what he does.”
Anthony on Dylan Harper being selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team: “He got better as the season went along…in Game 1 (of the Western Conference Finals), he put the team on his back. He deserved this.”
McGrady on the Spurs’ fearlessness: “One of the biggest factors that no one is really talking about with San Antonio is that they’re fearless. Stephon Castle had 11 turnovers (in Game 1) but you couldn’t tell because he stayed aggressive…These guys do not care about that and that opens up the freedom of basketball.”
ON THUNDER
McGrady on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: “He’s the MVP. There’s going to be a lot of emphasis put on him to slow him down. It’s up to him to read how the game is being played, whether that’s being aggressive or getting his teammates involved.”
Anthony on Chet Holmgren: “He’s one of the few players in this league who is seven foot and can put the ball on the floor, shoot the three, and play defense. You have to show some type of physical presence against Victor Wembanyama. You may not win the matchup, but you have to compete.”
McGrady on what the Thunder need: “They need a heavy diet of Jalen Williams. He needs to relieve that pressure off Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.”
McGrady on what Game 2 means for the Thunder: “Game 2 is a referendum on OKC’s maturity. We need to see if Coach Mark Daigneault has adjustments. Can they absorb the superstardom of Wemby?”
ON CAVALIERS
McGrady on the Cavaliers’ fourth-quarter strategy in their Game 1 Eastern Conference Finals loss to the Knicks: “It was mismanaged. When you see one of your players getting targeted every single possession, and they’re scoring every single possession, you got to make a change. James (Harden) played okay in the first half, but defensively he was bad in the fourth quarter.”
McGrady on James Harden’s performance in Game 1: “I know this is James Harden, but this is 17th-year James Harden. You have Dennis Schröder who can put out that fire and at least compete on the defensive end.”
McGrady on Donovan Mitchell: “Where were you in the fourth quarter? It seemed like he deferred too much on the offensive end.”
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NBC AND PEACOCK DELIVER THE MOST-WATCHED WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS GAME 1 EVER FOR MONDAY’S SPURS-THUNDER DOUBLE OVERTIME THRILLER
Monday night’s thrilling opener of the Western Conference Finals in which the No. 2 seed San Antonio Spurs defeated the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder, 122-115, in double overtime averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 9.2 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, making it the most-watched Western Conference Finals Game 1 ever, based on official Nielsen Big Data + Panel and digital data from Adobe Analytics.
Additional viewership* highlights for Spurs-Thunder Game 1 (8:23-11:43 p.m. ET) include:
- TAD of 9.2 million viewers is up 71% vs. Western Conference Finals Game 1 last year
- Peak of 12.0 million viewers from 11:30-11:43 p.m. ET for the second overtime and game’s conclusion
- Second-most-watched game of the 2025-26 NBA season to date
- By averaging 6.9 million TV-only viewers, NBC won the night in total audience and all key demos
- Most-watched TV-only Monday primetime program on NBC since The Voice on March 13, 2023 (7.0 million)
- Led by Peacock, the game streamed an Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 2.3 million viewers, making it the most streamed NBC/Peacock NBA game ever.
* Source: Nielsen Big Data + Panel, and digital data from Adobe Analytics
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