If there’s one game that’s been more eye-opening so far this season, it’s when the Spurs beat OKC Thunder in Saturday’s NBA Cup semifinal. OKC came into that game 24-1 and well on pace to break the all-time wins record, but just as they did last year when they lost to the Bucks in the NBA Cup finals, they went home without a trophy.
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The Thunder are still phenomenal, and they’re still the heavy favorites to win the title at the end of the season. But this game really elevated the Spurs and proved that whether they’re quite on OKC’s level or not, they’re undoubtedly coming for the crown.
Victor Wembanyama made his mark on that game, and he did it in limited minutes since this was his first game back from a calf strain he suffered a month before. That only makes San Antonio’s win more impressive.
Draymond Green infamously got into it with Wemby not that long ago when the Frenchman threw down a left-handed alley oop on his head off an inbound pass. The bucket didn’t count since the refs ruled that Draymond fouled Wemby first on the floor, but it still resulted in the Warriors veteran getting found out.
Draymond gets into it with everybody, but to his credit, he’s still usually able to be objective about things after the dust settles. On the latest episode of The Draymond Green Show, he spoke about Wemby and the Spurs’ ascent, and how he loved the way they’re going about their business.
“Everyone talked about is [OKC vs. the Spurs] a rivalry,” Draymond said. “And I loved Wemby’s answer. He said, ‘They’re in a league of their own, this can’t be a rivalry. But when both teams start winning, then it can be a rivalry.’ I love that answer because for so many years I’ve heard people say, ‘Oh man, that’s a rival of the Warriors,’ and I’m like, ‘They never beat us, how the f*** is it a rivalry?'”
Saturday’s win was the first tangible sign that the Spurs could be a worthy foil to a Thunder team that’s still on pace to break Draymond’s Warriors’ all-time wins record, but it is still just one game.
OKC lost to the Blazers earlier this year, but nobody is calling that a rivalry. To really make this a rivalry, the Spurs will have to do it again, and we’ll need a long playoff series or two between the teams to really cement it.
Wemby is, literally and figuratively, the biggest reason fans expect the Spurs to be the primary challenger to a potential Thunder dynasty, but he’s not the only one. Draymond also gave props to reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle.
“I think the Spurs are just as lucky to have Stephon Castle as they are to have Wemby,” he said. “Stephon Castle is a winner. He’s been a winner his entire life, and I think Stephon Castle has brought the winning ways to the San Antonio Spurs.”
Draymond stressed that he wasn’t taking anything away from Wemby. But he’s right about Castle, who won an NCAA title at UConn in his one collegiate season and helped Team USA win a gold medal in the 2022 FIBA U18 Americas Championship.
Castle is already an elite defender at just 21 years old, and his ability to hound guards on the perimeter greatly complements Wemby’s ability to alter and erase shots all over the court.
Together, they make the Spurs extremely difficult to score on, even for a team as skilled at putting the ball in the basket as the Thunder.
The pair are expected to provide the foundation for the next decade+ to challenge OKC, and if Dylan Harper fulfills his potential too, then look out.
Draymond knows what it’s like to watch a team evolve into a championship contender. He lived it as part of the Warriors, and now he’s trying to figure out if there’s any way Golden State can hold on for just a bit longer against the new kids on the block.
