Young Spurs team bears striking resemblance to another historical great

I know, I know. With the rivalry with OKC re-emerging, the last thing you want is to be compared to any version of that team, but we can't ignore the truth. San Antonio's rise this season resembles that 2012 Thunder team with Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook. As Spurs fans, we'll never forget the painful memory that comes with that team's recognition, but onward we go.

The image above only has three members of that uber-talented team, but we can't forget about Serge Ibaka. The combination of the four made for a ridiculously high-skilled team that wreaked havoc on the league that season. When you look back, you'll see that they only won 47 games, but that was second in the Western Conference in a year where teams only played 66 total due to a lockout.

The Silver and Black racked up 50 wins again that year and claimed the number one seed. They rolled through the playoffs, demolishing their opponents by sweeping the first two rounds until they crashed into OKC in the Western Conference Finals. We know what happened after that. Oklahoma City went to the NBA Finals, and the Spurs went home. This year, the roles can reverse.

San Antonio is the new kid on the block with immense talent

We can go player for player on this one. Victor Wembanyama is San Antonio's version of a young KD, but Wemby comes with more possibilities. He isn't as polished as Durant offensively, but he can still rack up points, and his defense is out of this world. That closes the gap on the former Thunder legend and gives Vic the edge.

Stephon Castle is the athletic, powerful guard who relentlessly attacks the rim with ferocity. Like Westbrook, his shot is shaky, but he's a net positive, and Castle is a better defender than Russ ever was.

Dylan Harper is the crafty left-handed monster coming off the bench. How is that not exactly how you would have described Harden back then? You get no relief as a defense when Harper enters the game, and you didn't when James did. Both players are capable of taking over and being the reason their team wins.

De'Aaron Fox would have to take the Serge Ibaka role, but obviously, they're completely different players. However, the comparison here lies in how important they are to the ultimate goal, not in their games. Swipa is a legitimate member of the Big 4 here, as Serge was to that young OKC squad.

Like the 2011-12 Thunder, this San Antonio team is ahead of schedule. Nobody thought OKC would be good enough to reach the finals that season, and everyone has been shocked to see the Spurs rolling through the competition this year.

A major difference between the two is the depth of the teams. Mitch Johnson has a much deeper bench than Billy Donovan had. He can lean on that in the playoffs when the going gets tough, and maybe, just maybe, the Silver and Black can do what that Oklahoma City team failed to... raise a Larry O'Brien trophy.