Despite the Oklahoma City Thunder's season ending in heartbreaking fashion Saturday, losing 111-103 in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals to the San Antonio Spurs, in a game the Thunder were never out of on home court, failing to become the first team to appear in back-to-back NBA Finals this decade, one shining star remained. Thunder guard Cason Wallace is going to be a problem for opposing teams for a long time. The third-year guard ended his strong playoff run in style, scoring 17 points while grabbing seven rebounds, assisting on four scores and racking up two steals and a block. Wallace shot 6-for-10 from the floor and 5-for-9 from long range. The Kentucky product went on a torrid run in the fourth quarter to keep Oklahoma City in the contest. Fourteen of his 17 points came in the game's final period, shooting 83.3% in the process. “We’re competitors. We didn’t want to lose," Wallace said in the postgame press conference. It’s a 48-minute game, so we’re gonna play 48 minutes. We tried to make a late push. It just wasn’t enough.”Wallace's impact was felt on both ends of the floor all night long, arguably being the Thunder's best player outside of the MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, in the win-or-go-home contest. Head Coach Mark Daigneault's adjustment in putting Wallace in the starting five paid off, but it was not enough to secure a win.Wallace laid it all out in the Thunder's final two games of the season, scoring 11 points with three steals on three made 3-pointers in Game 6 prior to his heroic Game 7 performance. In all likelihood, Wallace will be crucial as the Thunder now have to chase this Spurs team next season. “They’re a good team. Beatable team," Wallace said of San Antonio. "But we gotta do things better for a longer period of time.”From the Thunder Front Office and General Manager Sam Presti's point of view, inking up Wallace on a long-term contract extension should be a top priority in what is expected to be an eventful offseason. The 22-year-old is eligible to sign a rookie-scale contract extension this offseason, but his current rookie deal does not expire until the 2028 season. OKC did a stellar job extending crucial players from last season's championship run to long-term deals last offseason, most notably Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren. Now, the 10th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft is next on the list. Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow