NBC returned to televising NBA games this season for the first time since 2002, and Sunday night’s Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder marks NBC’s final broadcast of the 2025-26 campaign.

To open the NBA on NBC broadcast, Game 7 play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico — and recent Emmy winner — narrated a video highlight montage before the sounds of John Tesh’s “Roundball Rock” led NBC viewers into the scene at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.

Mike Tirico leads the Spurs-Thunder Game 7 open into “Roundball Rock” for NBC. #NBApic.twitter.com/3cBysNJaHf

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 31, 2026

“For eight months and nearly 100 nights, they do the same. They show up to play a game. But tonight is not like the other nights. This is the night you work for when no one else is watching. Tonight, the basketball world is watching to see the next Game Seven moment. So, whose night is it? The back-to-back MVP, stifled in this series, but one last chance to carry his championship club. Or, the one-of-a-kind star from France. At 22, heralded as the future face of the league. But is it his time yet? Someone walks out tonight with their mark on NBA history. This is your one night. You have one shot at Game Seven of the Western Conference Finals.”

That surely reminds plenty of viewers of Bob Costas and “Roundball Rock” opening NBA playoff broadcasts in the 1990s and early 2000s.

And speaking of Costas, he also narrated a montage for NBC’s coverage of the game.

BOB COSTAS GETS US READY FOR SPURS-THUNDER GAME 7!

NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/FjO6KtFXui

— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) May 30, 2026

“Game Seven. The game that is always decisive. And nearly always dramatic. Throughout the long season, it’s been clear that the two best teams in the NBA’s Western Conference are the Thunder and the Spurs. The two best teams, led by two of the game’s best and most distinctive stars. The back-to-back MVP intent on leading his team to back-to-back titles. And the otherworldly talent intent on taking the storied franchise back to the Finals for the first time in more than a decade. Between them, the Thunder and Spurs have played nearly 200 games this season. And now, it comes down to just one game. One game, Game Seven, on NBC.”

NBC has long been praised for making big events feel even bigger, and the network delivered again for this one.

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The NBA Playoffs are now just one game away from determining who will face the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals. After the Knicks swept the Cleveland Cavaliers, attention shifted to a pivotal Game 6 in the Western Conference Finals.

The Oklahoma City Thunder had an opportunity to close out the series on the road against the San Antonio Spurs. Not only did they fail to get the job done, but they were also thoroughly outplayed. The Spurs embraced a physical style from the opening tip and never backed down, setting the tone throughout the night.

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Victor Wembanyama led San Antonio onto the floor with a clear mission: intimidate the defending champions. The Spurs delivered a relentless performance that repeatedly made Oklahoma City look overmatched.

Their physical approach paid off. San Antonio secured the victory while holding the Thunder to just 37% shooting from the field and 25% from three-point range. Oklahoma City never found an offensive rhythm.

Wembanyama anchored the effort with three blocks, 10 rebounds, and two steals. His performance embodied everything the Spurs wanted to accomplish defensively as they dismantled the defending champions.

The Spurs’ 27-point win was so dominant that even Skip Bayless took to X to react. Bayless sharply criticized the Thunder’s lack of competitiveness, writing, “I’m about to unleash a video on the all-time sorry and shameful performance the Oklahoma City Thunder just put on national display in Game 6.”

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The play that may have best summarized the night wasn’t a basket at all. Instead, it was a hard foul by Carter Bryant on reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

While battling for a loose ball, Bryant crashed into Gilgeous-Alexander while pursuing an offensive rebound, sending him to the floor. After facing frequent criticism from fans and media for allegedly embellishing contact, Gilgeous-Alexander had little choice but to absorb the hit on this play.

The series now heads back to Oklahoma City for a decisive Game 7. The Spurs successfully fed off their home crowd and used that energy to fuel their aggressive, physical approach.

The question now is whether they can replicate that intensity on the road and send the defending champions home.