After the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder emerged victorious within the 2025 NBA Finals, it appeared as if Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and firm would have a dying grip on the league for the foreseeable future. Contemplating the franchise’s stockpiling of elite expertise and upcoming draft picks, the query at the moment wasn’t whether or not the Thunder would win one other championship however somewhat, what number of would they win in a row?
Alternatively, we knew the San Antonio Spurs had been certainly a looming risk within the years to come back. Simply how shortly they grew to become a reliable foil was the shock. After a 34-48 marketing campaign a yr in the past noticed the workforce acquire a high 3 choose within the draft for the second time in three years, it was clear they had been on track asset smart however nonetheless needed to mould a enough supporting forged round Victor Wembanyama. There was additionally a little bit of uncertainty surrounding Wembanyama’s well being coming into the season, after his sophomore season ended with a deep vein thrombosis analysis in February 2025.
Taking The Leap
Because it turned out, No. 2 general choose Dylan Harper, 2024 Rookie of the 12 months Stephon Fortress and All-Star DeAaron Fox proved to be the most effective supporting casts within the league. The leap that Wembanyama took each bodily and mentally in his third season was astronomical and his well being was a non-factor. And whereas Gilgeous-Alexander escaped with a second consecutive MVP award, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to consider San Antonio’s Alien wins the subsequent 5.
The primary telltale signal of the Spurs’ arrival was their efficiency in opposition to the Thunder early within the common season. The groups met thrice between December 13 and Christmas Day, with the Spurs successful all three conferences by a median of over 12 factors per recreation. The Thunder bought one again in opposition to San Antonio with a 21-point win in January, however the Spurs responded to that with a 10-point win over Oklahoma Metropolis in February to win the season sequence 4-1. After the Spurs third consecutive loss to Oklahoma Metropolis in December, Gilgeous-Alexander made it very clear how the Thunder felt about their budding rival.
SGA after shedding to the Spurs once more: „You do not lose to a workforce thrice in a row in a brief span with out them being higher than you“ 👀 pic.twitter.com/sIejI6Zz6q
— Oh No He Did not (@ohnohedidnt24) December 26, 2025
“As a bunch, you don’t lose to a workforce thrice in a brief span with out them being higher than you,” Gilgeous-Alexander stated. “They’re only a good basketball workforce. They know find out how to play, they’ve expertise. They play the correct approach, they play collectively. They’ve been higher than us, so we’ve bought to look within the mirror and determine it out.”
Discovering The Solutions
With the best way the Thunder have begun the postseason, there’s loads of motive to consider they will determine it out this sequence. Oklahoma Metropolis is 8-0 by means of its first two sequence and has gained by a median of 16.6 factors per recreation with simply two wins coming by single-digit margins. The Spurs will definitely pose a extra difficult problem than the Suns or the Lakers, however it’s a must to think about it will be silly to take an excessive amount of inventory into the common season outcomes.
One other increase for the Thunder is the actual fact Jalen Williams advised reporters he was wholesome coming into the sequence after lacking six of the workforce’s first eight postseason video games. A silver lining in Williams’ absences this season has been the emergence of Ajay Mitchell, who’s enjoying like a reliable second possibility for a workforce that’s nonetheless decisively favored to win the championship.
Regardless of the actual fact San Antonio dominated the common season sequence, Vegas continues to be giving Oklahoma Metropolis a considerable edge within the convention finals. The Thunder enter the lean as -260 favorites, though the sequence is barely +310 to go the gap at seven video games. Whatever the final result, that is virtually definitely simply the primary version of a postseason rivalry that can doubtless outline the subsequent decade of NBA basketball.
