The NBA Conference Finals will feature plenty of former Wildcats

And then there were four…

It’s time for the NBA Conference Finals. A pair of Eastern Conference teams will clash on one side of the bracket, while two more Western Conference teams do the same on the other side. We’ll have our NBA Finals matchup locked and loaded by the end of the month. Regardless of which four teams advance, we’ll have plenty of former Kentucky players to cheer on. Five of them, to be exact.

We’ll start with the West — that’s where the most Wildcat flavor will come from. And even as a fan of one of the teams in the East, I’d be lying if I said the Western Conference Finals wasn’t the must-watch series of the two. Thunder-Spurs will be the first NBA playoff series between teams with 60 or more wins since 2017. High-level basketball will be played.

WCF: (1) Thunder vs. (2) Spurs

This will be a battle of the one seed vs. the two seed. The reigning champs led by the back-to-back MVP taking on the up-and-coming challengers led by a (likely) future multi-time MVP.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder picked up his second straight MVP award on Sunday. He and the Thunder have yet to lose a playoff game this year, sweeping both the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers, winning those games by more than 16 points on average. And oh yeah, OKC’s All-Star wing Jalen Williams has only appeared in two playoff games due to injury. He’s listed as available for Game 1.

The strange part? Gilgeous-Alexander hasn’t even been playing up to his usual standards this postseason. And yet, his numbers are still impressive, and OKC is blowing teams out. SGA is averaging 29.1 points and 7.1 assists in 34.8 minutes per outing in these playoffs, shooting 56.4 percent on his twos but just 32.3 percent on his threes. He had big scoring games in round one, but didn’t top 23 points in round two until popping off for 35 points in the Game 4 closeout win. The Thunder will need MVP Shai to look like MVP Shai every single game in this series if the hope is a championship repeat.

Cason Wallace is in a similar up-and-down boat coming off the bench behind Gilgeous-Alexander. With Ajay Mitchell blossoming into a potential star, Wallace has been filling in when needed. He’s still posting good numbers, though: 7.3 points, three rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.8 steals in 23.1 minutes per playoff game on shooting splits of 46.8/46.2/100. Wallace’s job is to hit threes and play defense. He’ll be asked to do plenty of that against the Spurs’ wealth of young, talented guards.

For the Spurs, all eyes will obviously be on Victor Wembanyama, who hasn’t shied away from the moment. He’s averaging a 20/10 double-double, blocking over four shots per game, and shooting 34-plus percent from deep in these playoffs. But he’ll need help from the supporting cast. De’Aaron Fox and Keldon Johnson have important roles to fill.

Fox is actually listed as questionable due to an ankle injury — that’ll be something to keep an eye on. He’s the Spurs’ leader in playoff minutes so far, averaging 18.8 points and 5.8 assists per outing. He’s hit clutch shots already this postseason and could easily be the guy San Antonio goes to down the stretch of tight games. As for Johnson, the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year hasn’t been as productive compared to the regular season, but he’s still a key piece: 7.9 points and 3.7 rebounds in 18.5 minutes per game off the pine on 40 percent outside shooting. Fox and Johnson will serve as X-factors in different ways.

ECF: (3) Knicks vs. (4) Cavaliers

As the resident Cavaliers fan around KSR HQ, I am required to mention my favorite team whenever possible. How about that Game 7 demolition of the Pistons last night, eh? Not even a terrible performance from James Harden was going to deny Cleveland its first Eastern Conference Finals without LeBron James on the roster since before I was born. But the Cavs are sans UK alums. Olivier Sarr is technically on the roster, but has not been suiting up for the playoffs. Don’t expect that to change in the ECF.

That leaves us with the New York Knicks, which feature a big-name former Wildcat in Karl-Anthony Towns.

Other than his incessant fouling (3.9 fouls per game in these playoffs, by the way), Towns has been everything New York has needed this postseason. The scoring numbers have dipped compared to the regular season (from 20.1 PPG to 17.4 PPG), but the playmaking has ramped up (from 3.0 APG to 6.6 APG). His shooting splits are absurd: 58.7/48.3/89.7 across 10 playoff games for New York. When he plays well, the Knicks are tough to slow down. An explosive series from KAT against Cleveland’s frontline of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley will be crucial to New York’s success.

Below is the complete Conference Finals schedule. The Thunder and Spurs will get the party started on Monday night in OKC.

East Final: (3) New York vs. (4) Cleveland

• Game 1: Cleveland at New York | Tuesday, May 19 (8 ET, ESPN)
• Game 2: Cleveland at New York | Thursday, May 21 (8 ET, ESPN)
• Game 3: New York at Cleveland | Saturday, May 23 (8 ET, ESPN)
• Game 4: New York at Cleveland | Monday, May 25 (8 ET, ESPN)
• Game 5: Cleveland at New York | Wednesday, May 27 (8 ET, ESPN)*
• Game 6: New York at Cleveland | Friday, May 29 (8 ET, ESPN)*
• Game 7: Cleveland at New York | Sunday, May 31 (8 ET, ESPN)*

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West Final: (1) Oklahoma City vs. (2) San Antonio

• Game 1: San Antonio at Oklahoma City | Monday, May 18 (8:30 ET, NBC/Peacock)
• Game 2: San Antonio at Oklahoma City | Wednesday, May 20 (8:30 ET, NBC/Peacock)
• Game 3: Oklahoma City at San Antonio | Friday, May 22 (8:30 ET, NBC/Peacock)
• Game 4: Oklahoma City at San Antonio | Sunday, May 24 (8 ET, NBC/Peacock)
• Game 5: San Antonio at Oklahoma City | Tuesday, May 26 (8:30 ET, NBC/Peacock)*
• Game 6: Oklahoma City at San Antonio | Thursday, May 28 (8:30 ET, NBC/Peacock)*
• Game 7: San Antonio at Oklahoma City | Saturday, May 30 (8 ET, NBC/Peacock)*

* = If necessary