First MVP Top-3 Game 7 Since Bird-Erving 1982: SGA and Wembanyama Will Determine the Path to NBA Finals at Paycom Center

The 160th Game 7 in NBA history may witness the birth of a legend at Paycom Center on Saturday May 30 at 8 p.m. ET. Two clichés crashing together: the NBA's two best records, the top two seeds of the Western Conference, and two generational stars on the same stage. The winning team will face the New York Knicks in the series beginning next Wednesday in the NBA Finals. This duel between two giants is also writing history in basketball terms: the first Game 7 between two MVP top-3 finalists since the 1982 Bird-Erving Boston Celtics-Philadelphia 76ers conference final.

The Oklahoma City Thunder under Mark Daigneault take the court with the goal of back-to-back titles. If OKC win, they will become the first team to reach consecutive Finals since the Golden State Warriors' back-to-back Finals run between 2015-2019. Two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could only manage 15 points on 6/18 shooting in Game 6 and left a -28 plus/minus in his 28 minutes on the court. SGA topping 40 percent from the field only once throughout the series is disturbing the Thunder's offensive balance. But SGA will take the court at home on Saturday night and has motivation to push the Game 6 free-throw count of 12 above the season average of 23.3. Bad news for OKC: Jalen Williams (left hamstring) and Ajay Mitchell (right calf) are not playing in Game 7.

On the San Antonio Spurs front, the young team under Mitch Johnson dreams of the first Finals stage since 2014 on the shoulders of Victor Wembanyama. In Game 6, Wembanyama carried the series to a seventh with 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 28 minutes of duty. The Spurs produced a historic 20-0 run in the third quarter of Game 6 even with Wembanyama on the bench, and trapped the Thunder to 13 points in the season's worst quarter. Game 7 is in OKC, but Wembanyama could open the Spurs' first Finals journey since 2014 with a frame to add to his playoff statistics. De'Aaron Fox, returning from a calf injury, is not yet in full form, but the perimeter defense of Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper is critical for putting SGA under pressure.

Another historic note: the Spurs took their last Game 7 victory in the 2014 First Round, and went on to win the Finals at the end of that same season. OKC has won five of its last six Game 7s, and home-court advantage runs at about 79 percent according to NBA statistics overall. With five major blowouts across the series (the winner's margin has been 15+ in each), the question on the table is whether Saturday's atmosphere will allow a close game. ESPN and B/R's expert predictions lean slightly toward the Spurs; most of the Bleacher Report team picked San Antonio, emphasizing that Williams's absence is critical alongside Wembanyama's Game 6 form.

The match will be broadcast on NBC and Peacock. The winner will face the Knicks at Madison Square Garden or play at Paycom Center, with the first NBA Finals match on Wednesday June 3. Two global stars' career Game 7 at Paycom Center: one's dream is back-to-back, the other's is a first crown. NBA may write a legend tonight.