Chris Webber's bold Spurs take highlights how quickly fortunes can change

Naismith Hall of Famer Chris Webber had extremely high praise for the red-hot Spurs, whose nine-game winning streak is the longest in the NBA. His sentiments hit even harder after a signature win against the East's top-seeded Pistons last night.

"Before the year started, I picked the San Antonio Spurs to win [the Western Conference]," Webber stated in an interview with Rich Eisen. This is extremely high praise for the third youngest team in the Association.

It wasn't supposed to happen this soon

The San Antonio Spurs' path to title contention in the Western Conference came faster than anyone could have expected. It seems like just last year this was a young, rebuilding group struggling to make the NBA Playoffs... wait, hold up, that literally was last year.

In the blink of an eye, this squad became a real threat with an impressive resume under their belt. They've gone 4-1 against the defending champion OKC Thunder and, as stated earlier, pulled off a convincing win on the road over the Pistons. That makes them 5-1 against the two best teams in the league this year.

It's not every day you see a group this young and this early in their rebuilding process jump into contention. They're in Year 3 of the Victor Wembanyama project and are already amongst the league's elite. Just compare that to similar groups like the Thunder. It took them nearly five seasons after acquiring their franchise cornerstone to enter this territory.

The key that unlocked everything

De'Aaron Fox has been a serious X-Factor for this group and has been a huge reason for their progression. While Stephon Castle has impressed through his year and a half in the NBA, he hasn't taken that leap as an elite shot creator at his position just yet. This is where Fox excels, giving them a huge offensive boost with his 19.4 PPG in his 64 games in a Spurs uniform.

"The reason why I [picked the Spurs] is because of a man named Fox," Webber stated in his interview. "If you look at the championship teams that Coach Popovich constructed, there was always a fast point guard that could score inside the paint".

There is no doubt that Fox's ability to utilize his quickness to get downhill has unlocked this Spurs offense, opening up easy drive-and-kick opportunities on the perimeter for shooters like Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie.

It's also made the combo of him and Wemby dangerous, as defenders are left bewildered trying to stop pick-and-pop or roll plays between that duo.

The front office is getting it done

Rebuilds can be a painful process. It could take years for front offices to sift through drafts, trades, and signings to find the right pieces. But that has not been the case for the Spurs. They've connected the pieces to the puzzle, meshing their homegrown young talent with the right veterans.

It means something when you can get this level of high praise and notoriety from an NBA legend like Chris Webber, whose five All-NBA selections prove that he knows a thing or two about what he's talking about.

Now, the road to a Western Conference championship is a long and grueling one. But it's a huge success for this young Spurs group to find themselves in that conversation in the first place.