NBA just got a dose of Spurs reality, and they’re not going to like

The San Antonio Spurs have done a complete 180, and it is utterly undeniable. They have quickly shifted from a middling lottery team to a bona fide playoff squad in less than a year. With their dominant start to the 2025-26 season, there is no denying that this team is back and here to stay.

To the chagrin of the haters, the Spurs are ready to stunt on the competition. If you thought you already had enough Silver and Black dominance over the years, then you'd better prepare for more. This team continues to build electric squads and refuses to go away. The organization is often disrespected and ignored; nothing has changed now.

The Spurs continue to be disrespected

Even with a 16-7 start and a superb stretch without their star players, the Spurs are still being dismissed as genuine contenders for the finals. The Spurs have everything you could want out of a championship-level squad. You have a superstar, a co-star, a closer, and all of the depth you could ever ask for. So why are they still being quieted down?

Perhaps it is the lack of experience. You can't argue that this Spurs team has full playoff battle scars. Outside of Harrison Barnes, nobody on this team has hardly any real postseason expertise. Yet, I really don't think it matters.

You could have said the same thing about the Thunder last year, and look what happened. The notion of playoff experience mattering is becoming outdated. If not their youth, then what is giving media members such a challenge when it comes to respecting this up-and-coming juggernaut?

I wish I could tell you. Regardless, it's time to start giving the Spurs the benefit of the doubt. They have proved they deserved it before and are proving it once again. This team is a championship-caliber squad.

The Silver and Black have come away with some major victories

If you are like most people and still despise the Spurs organization and continue to lay the hand of disbelief, then let me inform you about what this team has done recently. If you were keeping up, you would know that the Spurs clinched an entrance into the NBA Cup quarterfinals, and the way they did it was truly remarkable.

With their backs against the wall against the Nikola Jokic-powered Denver Nuggets, the Spurs grasped the opportunity and took them down. Without any belief trending in their direction in the matchup, the Spurs shocked the world with their victory. To put it simply, the Spurs beat Jokic and the Nuggets without two of their best players. Yeah, pretty crazy.

Further, the Spurs have beaten the Rockets, Magic, Heat, Raptors, and Hawks. All of these teams are locked in playoff teams, and some of them are sneaky championship contenders. The Spurs' wins over two of the best Western Conference teams and a collection of top-6 playoff teams in the East prove that they can hang with anyone.

Whether you like it or not, the Spurs are once again back in the thick of things. I hope you enjoyed the few years that they were gone because they will not be leaving again anytime soon. For the next decade, at a minimum, the Spurs will be locked in as championship contenders with or without the respect of their peers.