The Spurs built the NBA's most loaded young core and they weren't quiet about it

CBS Sports recently ranked Victor Wembanyama and either Stephon Castle or Dylan Harper as the NBA's best duo. You won't get any argument out of Spurs Nation on that front. The Slash Bros are stars in the making, and the Alien is, indeed, Him.

But that invites the next question: what happens if you just expand the comparison instead of introducing an either/or? San Antonio can make the legitimate case for the league's best trio and even best four-man core in the league, and it's not like this came out of nowhere.

Wemby, Castle, Harper, and De'Aaron Fox all have All-Star-level ceilings, but they were also all top-five draft picks in their classes. How many other teams can boast the same?

The Spurs have the trio case by a hair

Let's make Vic and Steph the anchor duo here—they do have the best nickname. Now, add Harper to the bunch, and you're introducing a crazy triple threat with a mix of scoring, defense, power, clutch ability, and fearlessness. Each player showed up in huge moments during the playoffs, so those things can't really be argued.

Wembanyama, the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, is a first-team All-NBA superstar with seemingly no ceiling. Castle, with 18 PPG, 5 RPG, and 6 APG in the postseason, was the Rookie of the Year and is one of the league's best defenders. Harper, a postseason breakout who was so good that everyone is arguing he should start over a former number one option who just made the All-Star team in February of the same year.

The only real competition for the top trio is in OKC. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren are formidable, but if most people were asked which trinity they'd take, most of them would choose the Spurs' bunch.

Is that partially or maybe largely because Wemby is so ridiculous? Probably. However, the skills of the other two are undeniable, and trying to grab the clear-cut best player out of the bunch should be considered a sound strategy.

Nobody is remotely close to the Spurs at four deep

Put Fox in there as the fourth name, and San Antonio has four guys who carry real cases for stardom. Most contenders can't match them talent-wise past their top two or three. Swipa is a 2x All-Star and a Clutch Player of the Year winner.

Sacramento's 2023 postseason appearance was their first in nearly 20 years, and the Spurs' $229 million man led them there. He was the third option last season and still managed to post nearly 20 points a game on 48% from the field.

Philly would be the only team you'd consider after LeBron James and Jaylen Brown joined Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid, but this group is too old and injury-prone to be taken at the top. They'll have to prove they can coexist and stay on the floor.

There just aren't many teams that can actually enter this conversation. That's a product of the punitive CBA apron rules. Unfortunately for everyone else, the Spurs have been navigating them perfectly while drafting and developing well. Those organizational traits put them in a position to claim the best trio or four-man group in the sport, and it should lead them to another championship.

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