Spurs Playoff Path Gets More Difficult With Disappointing Loss to Denver

San Antonio could have secured an easier road to the NBA Finals if they beat the undermanned Nuggets, but after losing game 82 they may have to face Denver even earlier in the playoffs.

Apr 4, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) listens to head coach Mitch Johnson in the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

SAN ANTONIO - Even though they've been locked into the No.2 seed in the Western Conference for a while, the San Antonio Spurs still had plenty to play for and a lot at stake on the final day of the regular season.

A win over the shorthanded Nuggets would have secured an easier path to the Finals, but the Spurs couldn't get it done. Now, they may need to face Denver in the second round.

The Nuggets came into game 82 third in the West, but a loss in San Antonio would have dropped them to four and a first-round date with the Rockets instead of the Timberwolves. Based on how many core players they rested in this game, it seems they would have preferred that.

Based on how many Spurs suited up, it seems they wanted to send Denver to Oklahoma City's side of the bracket with a win. Instead of a potential second-round series with a Nuggets team that most agree is a true title contender, San Antonio could have thrown that extremely high hurdle to the title-favorite Thunder and forced those two heavyweights to duke it out for seven games before the Spurs would potentially meet the winner in the Western Conference Finals.

Instead, the Thunder are the team that only has to face one of the Spurs or Nuggets. San Antonio will have home-court advantage over every team except for the Thunder.

Who Will Spurs Play in First Round?

The Phoenix Suns will host the 7/8 Play-In Tournament game on Tuesday, with the winner becoming the No.7 seed and heading to San Antonio for the first round. Two teams had a chance of traveling to Phoenix for that game, but one got bumped to the 9/10 matchup after the games on Sunday

The Portland Trail Blazers came in holding the tiebreaker over the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Blazers beat the bottom-dwelling Kings to secure the No. 8 seed. The Clippers would have needed a Portland loss and a win over the Warriors.

If the Spurs could pick a winner for that game, the young Blazers would probably be preferable. Phoenix has a lot of experience on the roster, and they're one of the only teams in the league to beat San Antonio twice this year. They handed the Spurs their first loss of the season behind amazing defense that made Victor Wembanyama look human, but he and the Spurs have grown a lot since then.

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