Spurs' aggressive style is transforming their reputation at breakneck speed

Being beloved by the masses has a shelf life in the NBA. The eras of love and hate are cyclical. There was love for LeBron James across the board until he started moving around and going to the NBA Finals every year. The Golden State Warriors were must-see television for fans until they added Kevin Durant, turning themselves into the unbeatable evil empire.

These rollercoasters are understandable in sports. Everyone loves underdogs, but once those competitors evolve into giants, disdain starts to take shape. The Spurs are already going through that shift now, and they're okay with that.

32 points on 11/18 from the field with three blocked shots and a shove of Jalen Brunson's head to ruin New York's first NBA Finals game at home since 1999. Yeah. He's adopting the villain status, but the disgust Vic is earning will be dispersed among the entire roster when they complete the mission and knock the Knicks out of this series entirely.

The Knicks are about to be the latest to hate the Spurs

Spurs Nation is getting used to these feelings of contempt. The Trail Blazers' faithful weren't that bad, but Minnesota and Oklahoma City fans weren't happy at how San Antonio ended their seasons. But the NBA better get used to seeing this team at the top. They're not apologizing for ruining what their opponents thought was their time. They're relishing it because people don't think they can.

When the Spurs lost Game One to the Timberwolves in the second round, plenty of people jumped off the bandwagon, but they still respected the team. They've had a spectacular season, and many believed it should have been over by now. "Anthony Edwards leads a veteran squad. They've been here before. Yada yada yada."

It means nothing to Wemby, Stephon Castle, and the rest of this motley crew. Mitch Johnson's group continues to fight, and sometimes that includes throwing an elbow, trucking a player, and pushing a guy's head to get them off you or send a message. They won't be punked. They are doing the punking.

Beating fans' favorite teams makes enemies for the Spurs

There was an egregious number of celebrities at Madison Square Garden for Game 3; you would have thought the players were attending a Knicks-themed Met Gala afterparty. San Antonio cared about none of that and took that game by force. And it hurt New Yorkers' feelings. That's why they were attacking Spurs fans after the game.

Knicks fans weren't merely disappointed. They were livid. Media personalities we know as normally fun-loving were lashing out. That's what happens when a team starts threatening something people desperately want to see happen.

Sports can make people emotional, but come on. Those reactions were way over the line, but the ridiculousness doesn't stop there. Wembanyama is being taken to task by a longtime media member for simply being himself and playing hard in a rant that can only be described as the verbal manifestation of the immature assaults we saw from Knicks fans on Monday night.

The only people who are this passionate about their dislike of a player are fans threatened by the potential dominance of said player. I've never heard anyone express this kind of hatred for Matt Bonner or Channing Frye. David Jacoby is a self-proclaimed "die-easy Knicks fan," and he's worried that the same thing that happened to Minny and OKC is about to happen to his beloved team.

And he's right. It is.

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