San Antonio's defense is spectacular. Victor Wembanyama is MVP-caliber. Can they go from lottery to contender, shocking the league?
The San Antonio Spurs are not going to catch the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics anytime soon. Those two franchises have 17 and 18 NBA titles, respectively, and even if Victor Wembanyama exceeds his career expectations, 12 championships seem a bit out of reach.
The Spurs can, however, tie the Chicago Bulls (6) and catch up to the Golden State Warriors (7). When they drafted Wembanyama in 2023, it was expected that they would eventually hoist a trophy.
It was just a matter of when.
Turns out, it might be coming sooner than fans thought.
Spurs Are On Title Watch
The Spurs entered the season expecting to finally get Wemby some postseason experience, maybe putting up a fight in the first or second round as a scrappy underdog.
Instead, after beating the OKC Thunder four times and the Detroit Pistons twice, the second-best team in the West looks ready to go from lottery staple to Western Conference champion.
The cooler heads who started the season suggesting the Spurs could maybe make the fifth seed have since changed their tune. There isn't much holding the team back anymore.
"Can the Spurs actually pull this off?" asked The Athletic's Zach Harper. "San Antonio has surged so much that we’re now wondering if a team can go from not even making the Play-In to competing for a championship. They pretty much have the No. 2 seed locked up, and their defense is truly spectacular. They have a deep rotation — at least five different guys can really hurt an opponent on any given night. Victor Wembanyama is so good, it’s hard not to wonder if they can pull off the unthinkable."
In Harper's "report card" format, only the Spurs and Detroit Pistons landed a perfect A+ score.
Out West, the Thunder are still the betting favorite to run the gauntlet, but the Spurs are more than just a thorn in the reigning champs' side. San Antonio is ahead of schedule, Wemby already looks like an MVP, and he's surrounded by All-NBA and All-Defensive-worthy talent.
What more can the Spurs prove before the playoffs start? And what if they kick off a dynasty two years ahead of schedule?