There have been some fascinating storylines so far in this NBA season, but nothing has come close to the absolute dominance of the Oklahoma City Thunder. OKC hasn’t just picked up where they left off this past summer when they won the NBA title, they’ve put the 2016 Warriors and their 73-9 record squarely in their sights as they jumped out to a 24-1 record open the season.
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There are some very good teams around the NBA, but everyone has been asking themselves if there’s any possible way to slow this team and its unbelievable collection of young talent down. The Thunder have the reigning MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a rotation that can easily go 10 deep, and they still looked unstoppable even without their consensus second-best player, Jalen Williams, as he missed the first 19 games of the year.
They have the best roster and the best collection of future assets in the league, but on Saturday, the San Antonio Spurs showed that OKC’s once and future reign isn’t a fait accompli. Victor Wembanyama and company erased a 16-point second-quarter deficit to advance to the NBA Cup Finals against the Knicks, denying OKC a return trip after they lost to the Bucks last year.
This was Wemby’s first game back from the calf strain that cost him almost a month, but while he didn’t start and only played 21 minutes, he still made his presence felt with a +22 plus/minus.
Most people believed the Spurs would suffer without Wemby, but they’ve risen up the Western Conference ranks by going 9-3 in his absence. Last night’s win is a sign that with him, even in a limited capacity, they can beat anybody.
On The Hoop Collective podcast today, Brian Windhorst, Tim MacMahon, and Tim Bontemps broke down the Spurs’ win, and how it could portend the league’s next great rivalry.
“The Thunder are going to be a dominant team for a long time,” MacMahon said. “For the health of the league, you need some real challengers, some real rivals. And this has got that kind of potential.”
Now at 24-2, MacMahon doesn’t think that OKC will panic over this one loss, but he thought it meant the world to the Spurs. “This was a real chance to kind of make a statement of, ‘Hey, we’re here, you better take us seriously,’ and they’ve got a chance to be a force for a long, long time to come,” he said.
The reason for that is exactly the reason the Spurs have done so well, even without their generational superstar. “It’s not just Victor Wembanyama, as they proved going 9-3 without him,” MacMahon continued. “Those young guards, man, those guys … Victor’s not the only great defensive player on that roster.”
It really is an embarrassment of young riches in San Antonio. Stephon Castle is the reigning Rookie of the Year, and he’s taken a big step forward this year on both ends of the court. Dylan Harper, this summer’s No. 2 overall pick, has the potential to be truly special. De’Aaron Fox feels like the old man of the group, and he’s only 27, at least for a few more days.
The Spurs really seem to be embracing the rivalry, which only makes it even better. Wemby was asked a question after the game by Bontemps about how it felt to be back, and he seemed to throw shade at OKC and SGA’s reputation for foul-baiting when he said, “I’m just glad to be part of something that’s growing to be so beautiful — pure and ethical basketball.”
What’s scary for the rest of the league is that these two young teams are still clearly getting better all the time, but they’re not the only ones that will have a say over where the balance of power lies over the next decade. The Rockets are well-positioned, as are the Nuggets, Knicks, Lakers, and Mavericks, to make some noise if things fall right.
The NBA Cup Final between the Spurs and Knicks will have a tough time living up to what we all saw between the Thunder and the Spurs. If we’re lucky, we’ll see a seven-game series between the Spurs and Thunder this postseason, and in many more to come.
