The top-two teams all season long in the NBA will get the chance to duke it out one final time to advance to the Finals.
The potential for a meeting between the NBA's top-two teams all season long in the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder has loomed since the playoffs began. Now, this heavyweight bout is no longer a possibility but an absolute certainty.
After a 2-2 tie in its series with the Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio ripped off two straight emphatic victories to tame the scrappy Wolves in six games. Meanwhile, Oklahoma City is perfect through its two first series against the Phoenix Suns and the LeBron James-led Los Angeles Lakers, as the Thunder are off to a dominant start to their title defense.
Despite the different paths taken to get to the Western Conference Finals, both teams stack up very similarly in the ultimate pursuit to make a return trip to the NBA Finals.
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While regular season results mean about as close to nothing in the postseason, San Antonio purely dominated Oklahoma City in five meetings this season, which included a semifinal showdown in the NBA Cup bracket. The Spurs were the only team to consistently exploit the few weakness that the Thunder possess.
In those prior meetings, Spurs' superstar Victor Wembanyama played in all five and averaged around 18 points and nine rebounds per game. Although his impact made a difference for San Antonio, Wemby was never the team's leading scorer in any of those outings.
For the Thunder to get handled by San Antonio without their star at his full potential, it showcases the depth that the Spurs have been riding on throughout the season and raises serious concerns about the ability for Oklahoma City to find answers for the one team that seems to have them all figured out.
However, if there is one team in the NBA that is equipped to overcome past mistakes, it's the Thunder. It's not by some freak coincidence that they are set up again with a chance to make back-to-back Finals trips. Oklahoma City is simply that good and with its newfound experience by winning the title last season, the Thunder will not go out easy.
The biggest focal point for this latest series between the titans of the Western Conference is the impact of reigning league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. SGA missed the final matchup between the teams in the regular season but torched the Spurs time and time again, with an average of near 25 points per game, even if most of the efforts were in vain.
If he can continue the high output, it could cause serious issues for a San Antonio defense that has been in more games against arguably stiffer competition this postseason. While San Antonio used its depth to smother out the Thunder in the regular season, Oklahoma City is poised to lean on its top-heavy approach from a handful of bonafide stars to avenge those defeats.
San Antonio has a clear path to victory again over the Thunder, but putting the plan into action is easier said than done against the reigning NBA Champions.
The Spurs need to rely on their depth that carried them in the regular season, playoffs and in past meetings with OKC. Getting more contribution from its superstar in Wembanyama definitely would not hurt their chances any. Finally, San Antonio needs to prevent SGA from beating them every night and force the Thunder to have others step up in clutch moments.
It's shaping up to be one of the most exciting series in recent memory, with the eventual winner between the Spurs and Thunder assumedly becoming the favorite to take home the championship. And luckily for San Antonio, it has a serious chance to do just that in its biggest postseason series since 2017.