OKLAHOMA CITY — As Lindy Waters III prepared for the Western Conference Finals, he covered a tattoo on his back right calf.
It's an 'OKC' tattoo, but he's hid it throughout this season to provoke to his Spurs teammates that it's all about winning, especially ahead of his successful return to Oklahoma.
Waters, a Norman native and San Antonio Spurs guard, enjoyed a victorious weekend in Oklahoma City as his Spurs beat the Thunder in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, earning Waters his first NBA Finals appearance. He's believed to be the first Norman native to play in the NBA Finals.
The Spurs will begin their quest for an NBA championship Wednesday as they take on the New York Knicks in Game 1 at 7:30 p.m. on ABC.
After the thrilling win Saturday over OKC, Waters, a Norman North alum, enjoyed some champagne with his teammates before heading to the postgame lounge where plenty of his family and friends were waiting to celebrate with him.
Waters made it known to his teammates that the WCF against his hometown team was extra special, giving him lifelong memories with his family.
"I've been telling the guys all series long that I can't wait to get here and raise it in front of my family and friends," Waters III said. "I covered up my OKC tattoo for my boys. The only thing that matters is that team and those guys in that locker room right now. That's the only thing that matters."
There's plenty of layers that are piled onto this career milestone for Waters as this appearance seemed to be a pipe dream a short while ago.
About five years ago, Waters played in The Basketball League for the Enid Outlaws. Now, he will be playing in the pinnacle event of the sport of basketball with one of the best teams in the world.
He got his start in the NBA with the Thunder. He had a successful try-out with OKC in the fall of 2021.
He quickly found his role on OKC's G-League team, the Oklahoma City Blue, averaging 11 points per game.
After a few months with the organization, he earned a two-way contract, which allowed him to play for the Thunder in NBA.
It's a full-circle moment for Waters and his family — Waters helping beat his hometown and starting franchise toward a championship.
"It's surreal. It's a dream," Waters III said. "Being able to play for my hometown for a couple of years and watch them win a championship. And then being able to be part of a team like this who's talented and mentally, emotionally driven. To be able to put things aside, put their ego aside and get here and me being able to be a part of this and watching everybody grow.
"I'll say it's a dream come true. It really is and I'm kind of speechless, to an extent. I'm just kind of soaking it all in, but I also know the job is not finished. We got four more."
He played in OKC for three seasons and earned a standard NBA contract after his first season with the Thunder. That's where he got his NBA launchpad, allowing him to play for the Golden State Warriors and the Detroit Pistons the past few seasons.
That's when he signed with the Spurs this past offseason and has since become a veteran and glue-guy for the team that is making a loud arrival in the NBA.
Waters has played in 40 games this season and averaged just seven minutes a game, getting action in garbage time at the end of games.
That doesn't matter, though, for Waters' father Lindy Waters Jr. He's at the end of the bench of one of the best teams in the NBA and living out his childhood dreams — something his father made sure he knew immediately after exiting the Paycom Center court Saturday.
"It basically hits every emotion as a father," Lindy Waters Jr. said. "On Saturday, every emotion hit me and even as the game was winding down, it was just every emotion was coming out… He came off the court and immediately came up to me and told me he loves me, and I told him I'm proud of him.
"Looking back on Saturday, it was numbing. There's no words to describe how proud I am of him."
It's sort of ironic Waters gets to The Finals beating the team he got his NBA start with and the hometown team.
Though, Waters' family and friends are used to rooting against the hometown teams as Waters attended Oklahoma State to play for the Cowboys from 2016-20 after his time with Norman North.
Cooper Clark, a Norman High assistant basketball coach, is best friends with Waters and has plenty of experience rooting against what he's known.
In high school, Clark attended Norman High, but rooted for Norman North, outside of Crosstown Clash games of course.
When Waters was in college, Clark rooted for OSU despite growing up an OU fan.
Now, even though he used to be a Thunder fan, Clark wore a Spurs jersey to Saturday's game, supporting his lifelong friend.
"I've been telling people that it's friendships over fandom," Clark said. "Going back to our high school days, any chance I got, I would go cheer for them. So, it's really easy from my perspective to have a relationship with a friend like that and a family like that.
"It's easy for me to cheer for the villain or the rival."
