The San Antonio Spurs will have to march past the best teams in the NBA to even make the Finals, but that's not enough to deter some from making a bold prediction.
For the first time since 2019, the San Antonio Spurs have made the postseason. And for the first time since 2017, the team is a bona fide title contender.
Of course, there are more experienced teams standing in their way. If the Spurs win the NBA Finals, they would be the first team since Bill Walton's Trail Blazers to cap off a five-year postseason drought with a championship.
Of course, Victor Wembanyama gives them an unfair advantage, but even with Wemby leading the charge, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets are largely seen as the Western Conference frontrunners.
If the postseason shakes out as expected, the Spurs will have to play both Denver and Oklahoma City, although that doesn't deter some experts from picking the Spurs to win it all.
San Antonio Spurs Named Title Frontrunners
The sportsbooks in Las Vegas give the Spurs the second-best odds to win it all, tied with Denver and sandwiched between OKC and the Boston Celtics.
ESPN - the worldwide leader in sports - is a bit more optimistic.
Zach Kram expects the Spurs to sweep the first round (not a hot take) before beating the Nuggets in the second round, after a seven-game bout.
"In what promises to be a scintillating back-and-forth series, I give the Spurs the slightest edge for two reasons," explained Kram. "The first is home-court advantage, as San Antonio went 32-8 at home this season; only the Thunder (34-7) were better. The second is that, even acknowledging Jokic's historical mastery of Wembanyama, with Gordon's constant injury risk and Peyton Watson's availability in doubt, I have more faith that San Antonio will figure out ways to keep Denver out of the 130s than vice versa."
After that, the Spurs run into the Thunder in the Conference Finals, and Kram thinks that will only go six games. We sure hope he's right!
"If the Spurs could batter Oklahoma City with Wembanyama playing 25 minutes, then imagine what they could do when he receives another quarter's worth of playing time each game," Kram pointed out.
After that, it's expected that the Spurs will meet the Celtics, not the Pistons, in the Finals. San Antonio has had its way with the Eastern Conference this season, and if the Spurs make the Finals, it'll be their series to lose.