The Western Conference has a new team sitting at the top, and it’s not the one that has owned that space for the last three seasons.
Oklahoma City spent that stretch as the No. 1 seed in the West, won a championship, and watched its best player collect two MVPs. That kind of run made the Thunder the team nobody wanted to see. But in 2025-26, that label shifted to San Antonio.
The Spurs handled OKC eight times in 12 meetings from the regular season through the playoffs, and they were in control before the postseason even arrived. San Antonio went 4-1 against the defending champs in the regular season, and Victor Wembanyama was at the center of it all.
The playoff series itself came with injury issues on both sides. The Thunder were not fully whole in their seven-game battle, and neither were the Spurs. De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper played through injuries that affected them during the Western Conference Finals.
Still, the broader picture is hard to miss. San Antonio is ahead of schedule, and the core is absurdly young.
Wembanyama is already one of the best players in the world, and he’s joined by Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, both no older than 22. The two “Slash Bros.” showed real star potential in the biggest moments, and that didn’t go unnoticed.
On the other side, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is in his prime at 28. He’s fresh off his second straight MVP award and remains the center of everything the Thunder do. But the Spurs have the younger, longer runway, and the source of this shift is simple: San Antonio’s group is still climbing.
That 62-win season was also the first real time this Spurs team came together under a rookie head coach. They finished with one of the league’s best point differentials and already looked formidable.
The question is no longer whether they’re good enough. It’s how much more they can become.
That’s what makes this moment so striking. Oklahoma City was supposed to be the next dynasty, the team that followed the Golden State Warriors’ run and owned the league for a while. Instead, the Thunder were knocked off and joined the list of recent one-and-done champions.
The Spurs are the ones standing in that spot now: younger, more athletic, more dynamic, and hungry as hell. San Antonio didn’t win the championship, but it made the louder statement. The future belongs to the Silver and Black, and right now, it looks a lot like the present too.
In Other News...
Thunder Are Already Talking Revenge Against The Spurs
Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs spent the spring making life miserable for Oklahoma City, and the results were as decisive as they were memorable. San Antonio took both the regular-season and postseason series from the Thunder on the way to the 2026 Western Conference Finals, leaving a contender that prides itself on toughness with plenty of reason to circle the matchup when the calendar flips again.
Cason Wallace has already put a name to what comes next, acknowledging the Spurs control of the series while making clear the Thunder are carrying that disappointment into the new season. Oklahoma City has refreshed its roster heading into 2026-27, and with another run at San Antonio looming, this has the feel of a rivalry that could take on a sharper edge quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Camp Suddenly Has A Real DeAaron Fox Problem
The Spurs are heading into training camp with a legitimate decision to make at point guard, and it is not the kind that can be waved away as routine preseason sorting. DeAaron Fox and Dylan Harper sit at the center of it, with the veterans experience and the younger guards upside giving San Antonio two very different paths as it tries to settle the backcourt and define the tone for the season.
What makes the situation more interesting is that the answer is not locked in just because Fox arrived with the higher profile. Mitch Johnson is expected to sort the rotation based on what he sees on the floor, and the Spurs could still revisit three-guard looks with Stephon Castle if the matchup demands it. Those combinations have not gone especially well before, which is why this camp battle feels less like a formality and more like an early test of how flexible San Antonio really wants to be. [Read more 🡒]
Harrison Barnes Deal May Signal A Bigger Spurs Deadline Plan
San Antonios signing of Harrison Barnes to an $8 million contract looks less like a simple veteran addition and more like a roster move with the trade deadline in mind. The deal gives the Spurs added salary-cap flexibility, and when paired with other expiring contracts and draft capital, it gives them another tool if they decide the roster needs a midseason upgrade.
Barnes cannot be traded until December 15, so this is not an immediate relocation play, but it does give the Spurs another movable piece once the calendar opens up. If the season pushes them toward a different path, his contract could end up being part of a larger package, and that is what makes this signing worth watching beyond the surface-level fit. [Read more 🡒]