Saturday’s NBA Cup semifinals at T-Mobile Arena just got a whole lot bigger.
Spurs star center Victor Wembanyama is set to return from a calf strain that has sidelined him since No. 14 when San Antonio plays Oklahoma City in the Western Conference semifinal at 6 p.m.
The 7-foot-4 former No. 1 pick is averaging 26.2 points, 12.9 rebounds and four assists per game this season.
It will be a big boost for a Spurs (17-7) team hoping to prevent the Thunder from continuing their pursuit of NBA history. Oklahoma City (24-1) is tied with the 2015-16 Warriors for the best 25-game start ever.
The Knicks (17-7) and Magic (15-10) will meet in the first semifinal at 2:30 p.m. with the winners set to face off Tuesday night at T-Mobile for the NBA Cup championship and the accompanying cash prize.
Here is something to know about each of the four teams who have qualified for the semifinals:
San Antonio
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**The Spurs will get their big man back on Saturday.**
Wembanyama has been lobbying to return since he first suffered a calf strain nearly a month ago, according to San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson.
But the organization and its young star have been cautious in managing his recovery
“I’m feeling great,” he said. “I think we have done the right things over this past however long it’s been, three weeks or one month, and I’m feeling great. I’m ready to go.
“It’s true if it was only up to me, I would have come back earlier. But I think it’s more reasonable to listen to them and do as they said because there was no reason to take inconsiderate risk two days after my injury.”
Even though he’s been cleared to return, he may not be in basketball shape. Johnson said there is a good chance he will be on a minutes restriction Saturday.
“He’s going to be tired,” Johnson said. “The excitement, the mental fatigue. He was tired the first time I saw him play live against video guys. He is just so excited to be back out on the court. So obviously in a game like this, it would be, regardless, but I can only expect the excitement for him and want to get out there.
“So I would suspect an early sub and not his normal minutes.”
The Spurs have gone 9-3 in his absence, proving their resurgence could be for real as they try to climb back to relevancy in a Western Conference over which they once reigned.
“I’ve been really proud,” Wembanyama said. “Of course, it’s been hard to watch from my couch, but almost every night, they have proven to me that I have nothing to worry about. The brand of basketball we are playing, that they have been playing, just makes me proud because it’s getting closer to the ideal basketball, in my opinion. Everybody has something to eat, you know. Everybody can step up at any time. Everybody can take up responsibilities. Everybody trusts their next teammate. It’s just beautiful to see.”
And now, they have one of the best players in the world back in the mix.
Oklahoma City
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**The Thunder are chasing history.**
Oklahoma City has tied the best 25-game start in NBA history and has its sights set on 30-1, which would be the most wins before taking a second loss in a single season.
That Warriors team finished 73-9, the best regular-season record in history.
The Thunder aren’t shying away from the fact they have a chance to reach that mark.
“Absolutely,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said of whether it’s something he thinks about. “Winning matters. And no matter what form it looks like to me. So absolutely.”
The scariest part about the Thunder’s start for opponents is that they may be even better than they were last year, when they set a league record with a plus-12.9 scoring differential.
They are currently outscoring opponents by 17.5 points per game.
Here they are on a mission to claim the one thing that has eluded them.
Oklahoma City lost the championship game in Las Vegas last year before going on to the NBA title. Gilgeous-Alexander said it would still mean something to win the NBA Cup despite already collecting an NBA title and the MVP award.
“It would be phenomenal,” he said. “Every game I play or we play as a team, we wake up in the morning and before the game starts we want to win the game.
“When I played (youth) basketball when I was 9, I wanted to win the championship. Whenever you get a chance to play for something and win, that’s always the goal. It’s always the same feeling. So it would be phenomenal to win, for sure.”
New York
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**The Knicks finally advanced to Las Vegas.**
New York had been knocked out of this event in the quarterfinals each of the last two seasons before making the semis with a 117-101 win over Toronto on Tuesday.
Now that they are here, the goal is to win. But coach Mike Brown has bigger goals for this team and he hopes to use the experience this week as preparation for a potential Finals run he believes his team is capable of making this season.
“Being in environments like this, they do help you,” he said. “I’ve been fortunate and blessed to be part of six NBA Finals teams. The media and the distractions are much bigger than this, but this is about as close as you can get, especially during the regular season.
“So there are some things that you can take from being here that correlate with you being in the Finals or whatever down the road.”
His stars, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony-Towns, are a major reason he believes they can make a deep run.
Brunson is known as one of the best high-leverage situation players and won two national titles in college. He’s certainly excited about the tournament format.
“I feel like that obviously it’s like win-or-go-home,” he said. “So you want to put your best foot forward, and you want to go out there and try to win.
“It’s not really a series. You can’t ease into Game 1 and see how things are going to be. You’ve got to go out there and just try to win and move on.”
Orlando
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**The Magic found their missing piece.**
Orlando has a young team that was brilliant on the defensive end of the floor last year only to make another early postseason exit because of their lack of a true perimeter threat.
Enter Desmond Bane.
The Magic gave up a King’s ransom for the sharpshooter and after a slow start, he has truly started to unlock the offensive games of young stars Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.
While Wagner suffered a high-ankle sprain last week, the team was still able to advance to the semis largely on the strength of Bane’s 37-point eruption in a quarterfinals win over Miami.
“We are building a ton of momentum, trending in the right direction,” Bane said. “Unfortunately, Franz goes down. But, you know, we still find a way to win some games. It’s been great.”
Still, Orlando is still at its core a scrappy and physical defensive team that bothers opponents every night.
“One through 15, that’s our goal,” Bane said. “To be the most physical team on both ends of the floor every single night. When we win, we usually do that.”
Contact Adam Hill at [ahill@reviewjournal.com.](mailto:ahill@reviewjournal.com) Follow [@AdamHillLVRJ](https://x.com/AdamHillLVRJ) on X.
**Up next**
**Who:** NBA Cup semifinals: Knicks vs. Magic and Spurs vs. Thunder
**When:** 2:30 p.m., 6 p.m. Saturday
**Where:** T-Mobile Arena
**TV:** Prime Video
**Line:** Knicks -4½, total 223½; Thunder -9½; total 226½