The Spurs just stole the Thunder's spot atop the Western Conference

Oklahoma City has spent the last three seasons as the number one seed in the Western Conference. During their time at the top, they secured a championship, and their best player won two MVPs. With such high-level talent and depth on their roster, their sustained excellence made them the number one team that most didn't want to play. That title belongs to the Spurs now.

The Spurs took OKC's lunch money in the 2025-26 season

San Antonio beat OKC eight out of 12 times from the regular season to the playoffs. The Thunder were compromised in their seven-game war, but so were the Silver and Black. De'Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper both fought through injuries that compromised them during the Western Conference Finals.

No matter where observers land on who would have won the series had everyone been 100%, nobody can deny what was taking place before the playoffs began. The Spurs had already been bullying the Thunder. The Victor Wembanyama-led crew went 4-1 against the then-defending champs during the regular season.

We can only expect the very young Spurs to get better from here. Wemby is leading a hell of a triple threat with him, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper, no older than 22. Vic is already one of the best players in the world, and both Slash Bros. flashed star potential of their own in the games featuring the highest stakes, and everyone saw it.

The Thunder are chasing a Spurs team that's only getting started

On OKC's side, at 28 years old, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is in his prime right now. He's the head of that snake, and while he's just secured his second MVP award in a row, there's not a general manager in the league who would take the Thunder superstar over Wembanyama right now. He's not going to get much better than he is right now.

Meanwhile, we can expect almost every member of the Spurs to improve, and a few of them will take leaps. That was a 62-win team truly coming together for the first time with a rookie head coach. They were already so good, finishing the year with one of the highest point differentials in the league. It's fair to ask, "Well, how much better do they need to be?"

It's less about need and more about reality, though. San Antonio's runway is much longer than OKC's, and they're already better. Everyone thought they'd be the next dynasty. We haven't had one since the Golden State Warriors' run. Instead, they were knocked off and made to resemble every other one-and-done we've seen over the past half-decade-plus.

Now, in their place, sit the Spurs. Younger, more athletic, more dynamic, and hungry as hell. San Antonio may not have won a championship, but they still made a statement. OKC is yesterday's news. The Silver and Black are the future, and the future is now.

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