Bismack Biyombo and the NBA Finals, they don't exactly fit well together.
Only the former Phoenix Suns is one series away from getting back to the top of the mountain with the San Antonio Spurs, and he is somehow the key in deciding if it will be his team or the Oklahoma City Thunder who take that final step.
Biyombo the perfect physical big man to work with Victor Wembanyama
If you watched Game 2 between those two sides, then two things will have stood out to you. The first is just how far away the Suns truly are from contention, given the depth and young talent both of those rosters are going to boast for years to come.
It is why returning to the Giannis conversation is also worth exploring, because taking the long road back to contention doesn't fit with Devin Booker's own timeline.
The second thing that jumped out, and it would make you dislike the Thunder even more, was just how physical Isaiah Hartenstein was with Victor Wembanyama. Trying to rough up skilled opponents has been a tactic as long as sports have existed, but what he got away with was outrageous.
Isaiah Hartenstein fouled Wemby on every single play when he was in the game and the refs did NOTHING about it pic.twitter.com/x4sLwGyGMp
— Land of Lowlights (@LoLowlights) May 21, 2026
But as the series switches to Texas, who better than Biyombo to mimic what Hartenstein does to prepare "Wemby" for the rest of this series?
Many fans may not understand why Biyombo has lasted as long as he has in San Antonio. Particularly when they are letting younger guys with upside such as Jeremy Sochan leave for pastures new. Why would you want a guy who appeared only 25 times during the regular season at just over five minutes per game, and will only ever see the court during garbage time the playoffs?
We don't see what goes at during Spurs practice, and you can bet it now involves Biyombo hanging out of Wembanyama and forcing him to play through serious contact on many possessions.
If he can figure out how to do that and break through his own version of "The Jordan Rules", then the Spurs are going to the NBA Finals. Biyombo is the player who can push the French superstar to the point where he makes that happen while they practice together.
As an extra Suns related bonus, Mason Plumlee is also on this roster and could be used in a similay way.
Who would have ever thought a pair of journeymen bigs, one of which made the finals with Phoenix in Biyombo, could be so critical in deciding who comes out of the West in 2026.
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