The Spurs just forced the NBA to confront an uncomfortable reality

The Spurs are the NBA's best team, and we can all acknowledge that now. There's no better test to prove that than what they've just put on the floor over the past month. San Antonio has mostly been on the road for the past 30 days. During that time, they've gone 12-2 for the best record in the NBA, beating the ex-best team three times in the process. That, alone, gives the Silver and Black a significant nod, but it's not just that.

The only two games this team has lost over that stretch were against the Timberwolves and the Cavaliers. Stephon Castle and Victor Wembanyama missed both of those contests. The only game this team has lost since they've all been together is the Emirates NBA Cup Final to the Knicks, and there were still extenuating circumstances to account for that day.

The Spurs have been a powerhouse at full strength and with pieces missing. Since November 26, they've beaten the Nuggets, Magic, Lakers, smacked the Hawks, and gave the Thunder three Ls. That's a hell of a resume in a fairly short amount of time, and members of the national media agree.

Spurs sit atop Bleacher Report's new power rankings

Behind San Antonio sit OKC (2), Denver (3), Detroit (4), and New York (5) on BR's latest list. Quite frankly, it's about time. I understand the desire to have "proven" teams at the top of any ranking, but there needs to be more consideration for what's happening in real-time. If you're not going to properly respect teams for what they're doing nightly, you shouldn't be making weekly updates.

Nobody else has crossed off the number of quality teams the Silver and Black have. When you're the sole reason the NBA community is doubting the defending champion, that's worth a significant amount of clout. The time for questioning whether this team is a contender or not is over.

The NBA has been put on notice. There's no going back now. This is the worst that San Antonio's core four will look together while they're on the same roster. Dylan Harper, Castle, and Wembanyama are still only first, second, and third-year players, at the end of the day. Each one of them is going to continue growing and getting better, as scary as that sounds.

I know young teams don't usually win championships, so nobody is truly going to pick a Victor Wembanyama-led squad as the favorite to do it. But over the last five games, the Spurs have the highest offensive rating and the second-highest defensive rating. A ball club capable of that can do anything.

They're only going to get better as they gel together over the season. Their title aspirations likely hinge more on how quickly that happens than on what their birth certificates say.