The San Antonio Spurs may still sit near the top of the NBA pecking order, but the Portland Trail Blazers are the team now pushing back.
Portland’s first-round loss to San Antonio in five games didn’t just end its postseason run. It also left behind the kind of edge that can turn into something bigger. The two teams already gave off plenty of heat during that series, and the first meeting between them this season is shaping up to be one to watch.
Dylan Harper and Scoot Henderson were trading words, while Deni Avdija got into it with both De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle. That alone is enough to suggest the next matchup could get testy fast.
"The Blazers lost in five games in the first round of the playoffs to the San Antonio Spurs, who went on to win the Western Conference in a seven-game series against the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder," wrote SI's Jeremy Brener.
"The Spurs are coming back this season for blood as they try to make up for their loss in the Finals, but the Blazers should represent a very challenging opponent. Portland should come in with a chip on its shoulder after losing to San Antonio in five games, so it'll be interesting to see how they respond when they face their new rival."
San Antonio, led by Victor Wembanyama, still looks like the stronger team. But Portland is coming off a season in which it had to battle through the play-in tournament just to get a shot at the Spurs, and the Blazers should be better with the addition of Ja Morant and the return of Damian Lillard.
The hope in Portland is to keep building from there and reach the postseason outright in 2027. For now, though, the matchup with San Antonio has the feel of a budding rivalry.
In Other News...
Spurs Saw This Coming With Wemby Long Before Everyone Else
Before Victor Wembanyama became the face of the Spurs future, San Antonio had already spent years treating him like a once-in-a-generation project. Coach Mitch Johnson even made a point of visiting Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald to talk through the 7-foot-4 French star, a reminder of how widely the organization has been thinking about Wembanyamas impact and how to maximize it. Brian Wright and R.C. Buford have both reflected on the work that went into identifying him as a teenager, and on the strategic moves that helped put San Antonio in position to draft him.
Now the payoff is visible on the floor, with Wembanyama having already carried the Spurs to the NBA Finals in his first postseason while collecting Defensive Player of the Year and All-NBA First Team honors along the way. What makes the story especially interesting from San Antonios side is how early the club seems to have understood the scale of what it was getting, and how much of the next chapter still depends on how they keep building around him. [Read more 🡒]
Victor Wembanyama Could Unlock The Spurs Offense In A Huge Way
The Spurs already showed one clear offensive wrinkle last season: when Victor Wembanyama was involved as a roll man in pick-and-roll action, the floor started to tilt in San Antonios favor. That mattered because the team had real corner shooting to lean on, with Harrison Barnes and Julian Champagnie helping turn those looks into a reliable weapon. When Wembanyama forces defenses to collapse, the ball tends to find cleaner shots on the perimeter.
What makes this so intriguing for next season is how much more pressure San Antonio could apply if it commits even harder to those rolls to the basket. Wembanyamas size and gravity can drag extra defenders into the paint, and that is exactly the kind of attention that can turn corner shooters into finishers. If the Spurs can keep feeding that action, their offense may have a simple but dangerous way to become much harder to guard. [Read more 🡒]
P.J. Washington Trade Buzz Puts Mavericks Forward Situation In Focus
As the Spurs sort through their deadline plans, the bigger picture appears to be less about a roster overhaul and more about whether they can keep most of the group intact while still finding a meaningful upgrade. That has naturally pushed some attention toward available wings and frontcourt pieces around the league, especially players who can fit alongside the young core without demanding the ball or disrupting the defensive structure.
One name that has surfaced is Dallas forward P.J. Washington, whose mix of defensive versatility and floor spacing makes him the kind of fit teams tend to circle in February. A writer recently floated the idea of Washington landing in San Antonio in a deal built around Harrison Barnes, but nothing official has been reported, and the Spurs are still very much in the evaluation stage as the deadline approaches. [Read more 🡒]