<\/p>\n
Whether or not you believe that the Oklahoma City Thunder-<\/span><\/a>San Antonio Spurs<\/a> Western Conference Finals are a battle of good versus evil, as some online want you to, the series holds\u00a0<\/span>plenty of stakes for the NBA’s<\/a> future.<\/p>\n That may sound hyperbolic; we already knew both teams, tied at 3-3, are elite, and a WCF meeting felt inevitable barring major injuries. In fact, even\u00a0<\/span>with\u00a0<\/span>a major injury to Jalen Williams, the Thunder basically walked to the conference finals before facing a real challenge.<\/span><\/p>\n But if the Victor Wembanyama-led Spurs improbably knock off the defending champions, that changes the trajectory of the entire league. San Antonio would take over as the team to beat in the\u00a0<\/span>Western Conference \u2014 and in the league at large \u2014 much sooner than anyone expected. The preconceived notion of a young team having to lose to build character would be destroyed, and the idea of the Spurs as a future threat would be recast as an\u00a0<\/span>immediate\u00a0<\/span>threat.<\/p>\n If Spurs win Game 7 on Saturday in Oklahoma City, the Thunder shouldn\u2019t panic, but the rest of the league should.<\/p>\n The Thunder ravaged the league last season and followed that title with another stellar campaign. They\u2019re one game from the NBA Finals, where they would be heavy favorites against the New York Knicks. (The Spurs would be favored, too.) \u00a0So it feels a little outrageous to say the Thunder would be \u201cdethroned\u201d for\u00a0<\/span>losing one playoff series.\u00a0<\/p>\n In fact, that full-on domination is why a loss to the Spurs would be enough to see them surpassed as the league\u2019s top dog.\u00a0The Thunder are still as good as\u00a0<\/span>everyone thinks, so the Spurs winning this series would be all the more meaningful.<\/p>\n It seems like a foregone conclusion that we’ll watch these teams play each other in the Western Conference Finals at least once more in the immediate future. That\u2019s why, even with a loss, the Thunder have no reason to panic over the summer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Oklahoma City wasn’t going to win the title every year (even if it felt that way after last season). Plus, the Thunder will have two high-value picks entering the fold next season: their selection at No. 12 on June 23 and last year\u2019s pick, 6-foot-9 forward Thomas Sorber.<\/p>\n The rest of the league, though, has good reason to panic if the Spurs make the Finals in their first \u201crebuilt\u201d season. Coming out unscathed from the gauntlet of the Western Conference in a season in which simply gaining playoff experience felt like a win is unexpected<\/span>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Everything Wembanyama, Dylan Harper and this team does feels unprecedented.<\/p>\n Wemby obviously is the centerpiece. He\u2019s averaging 28.2 points, 11.5 rebounds and three \u00a0blocks in the WCF, which somehow doesn\u2019t even do justice to how sensational he has played. If his career trajectory continues at the present rate, he\u2019ll be the best player in basketball within a few years. Or a few months. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Of course, we have seen young players come into the league and dominate early; what makes the Spurs so frightening is how perfectly the front office has already complemented their megastar.<\/span><\/p>\n Harper might be an even\u00a0<\/span>better\u00a0<\/span>prospect than experts believed coming out of the draft, and when he\u2019s finally given a starting role, he will officially form a Big Three with Wembanyama and Stephon\u00a0<\/span>Castle, who\u00a0<\/span>also\u00a0<\/span>still has plenty of room to grow.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to say the Spurs got \u201clucky\u201d with this team, because the franchise is run so well from top to bottom. This is not new territory for a team with four titles in the 21st century.<\/p>\n Still, it\u2019s remarkable that the first\u00a0<\/span>iteration of a team built around Wemby with the intention of\u00a0<\/span>competing is one win away from the NBA Finals and one win from knocking off a team that appeared ready to claim the league\u2019s next dynasty.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Now, the entire foundation of the league \u00a0has been changed, and we\u2019re dangerously close to the Spurs stealing that dynasty label for themselves.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nDon’t worry, Thunder<\/h2>\n
A perfect supporting cast for Victor Wembanyama<\/h2>\n