Skip to main content

Spurs have become exact nightmare the NBA tried to avoid

There is too much talent on this roster.
May 18, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) reacts in double overtime against the Oklahoma City Thunder during game one of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
May 18, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) reacts in double overtime against the Oklahoma City Thunder during game one of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Three young studs. Three double-doubles. That's what Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper did last night in their first-ever Western Conference Finals game. The NBA spent years implementing rules designed to stop superteams from creating decade-long strangleholds on the league.

What they couldn't stop was a franchise drafting and developing one naturally. And now every other organization in the league is forced to reckon with a level of talent most will never come close to sniffing.

The Spurs are far too talented for a team this young

San Antonio's starting lineup last night had an average age of 22 years old. Obviously, that changes when De'Aaron Fox returns, but not by much. He's still only 28. Swipa is in the prime of his career, yet he feels older than the foundation San Antonio is building around him. Imagine what it will look like when it's time for him to leave, though.

The reality is that the limitations on organizations placed on them by the league's CBA will force the Spurs to make that move at some point. The penalties for going over the cap are just too steep now. But by the time it happens, Wembanyama, Castle, and Harper will have developed so much while playing winning basketball. Look at the production they're already putting up.

Both of the young Slash Bros. were projected as NBA-ready, but that doesn't guarantee they'll be prepared for a playoff run this soon. The Spurs hit grand slams on three top-five picks in consecutive years. The repercussions of that will be felt for a long time. If the Board of Governors passes Adam Silver's latest idea to curb tanking, nobody else will have an opportunity to build their team that way.

One of the new rules presented would prevent any teams from landing a number one pick in back-to-back years and bar them from top five picks in a three-year span. So, if they can't draft highly skilled prospects fast enough and they are restricted from stacking talent on their team via trade or free agency, how do you compete with the Spurs in the near future? Well, you don't.

The rest of the NBA may not realize it yet, but the Silver and Black are positioned to benefit from a perfect storm of timing, drafting, and player development that future teams may never get the opportunity to replicate again. That's what makes this rise feel so dangerous. San Antonio isn't just ahead of schedule. The league may have unintentionally made sure nobody else can follow the same blueprint.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations