As the San Antonio Spurs (18-7) beat the Oklahoma City Thunder (24-2) in an NBA Cup shocker, 111-109, it had fans wondering if these two teams could potentially be the next big rivalry in the league. While Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama continues his on-court dominance as the Thunder are seemingly on their way to competing for another championship, it's easy to look at the two squads and think they're going to go at it for years to come.
One person who was even asked about this was Oklahoma City star and reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is at the forefront of the team's young and uber-talented core. He would even say after the Thunder got their second loss of the entire season that “there's a good chance” that the two teams could be the next best rivalry in the NBA.
“Possibly. Yeah, there's a good chance,” Gilgeous-Alexander said, via HoopsHype. “They, like you said, are young, really good, have a lot of talent, play the right way, they play good brand of basketball. But yeah. Yeah, definitely, definitely is a possibility. I've noticed that like anything could happen in a couple years. So like yeah, it's definitely a possibility. Not 100%, but definitely a possibility for sure.”
Besides how the teams are playing right now, both San Antonio and Oklahoma City feature the top two young cores, as, besides Wembanyama and Gilgeous-Alexander, names like Jalen Williams, De'Aaron Fox, Chet Holmgren, Stephon Castle, and more are exciting. Still, while the teams are well-coached and contain crucial supporting casts, it's boasted more by Gilgeous-Alexander and Wembanyama, who will continue to be MVP candidates for the foreseeable future.
How exciting the Thunder-Spurs rivalry will be in the NBA
As Gilgeous-Alexander showed respect for the Thunder, the Spurs phenomenon in Wembanyama gave credit to the Thunder after the huge NBA Cup win. When talking about Oklahoma City, Wembanyama would talk about them being the benchmark that every team in the NBA should strive to be, saying that, besides being first in the NBA, “they're way ahead of everybody.”
“It's our first time playing [with] everybody [healthy],” Wembanyama said, according to ESPN. “We were already a solid team already more than 20 games ago. It's just experience. We're just figuring it out. And the difference with us and [Oklahoma City] is we haven't had this many reps recognizing what it takes to win. And this is our next step.”
“This OKC team, they're not just first in the league,” Wembanyama continued. “They're way ahead of everybody. And when you watch them, no matter who, whether it's the 12th man or the starting five, whether they're playing against the 15th seed or any kind of game, they're playing the same way. They're enjoying the little things that make them win, and this is the next step we have to pass.”
With the team's elite young cores, especially being led by two of the best players in the league, there's no denying the inevitability of these two franchises being rivals, as Saturday's game was just a taste of what's to come for the future. There's no doubt that the future is a bright one, with both the Thunder and Spurs having a chance to further duke it out come playoff time, as the West better prepare for them.
