A bold prediction forecasts the Spurs clinching the top Western seed. See why keeping their young core intact could spark a championship run.
The NBA trade deadline has come and gone, and the San Antonio Spurs did not make any noise despite rumors that the team would deal former first-round pick Jeremy Sochan.
But with how the Spurs are currently playing, it's hard to find fault with them not changing anything about their roster.
And they could make even more noise in the second half of the season.
In a recent article by Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz, he makes a few bold predictions for the rest of the NBA season now that the trade deadline has passed and teams have an idea of their roster for the rest of the season.
He has one that Spurs fans love to hear, and it's that San Antonio will take away the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference from the Oklahoma City Thunder.
"Currently 3.5 games back of OKC in the West standings, the Spurs chose to keep this core together at the trade deadline," Swartz writes. "The Spurs are young, hungry and eager to prove they belong in the playoffs. The Thunder are coming off a title and won't take the remainder of the regular season quite so seriously, using extra caution with their banged-up stars. San Antonio will finish with the No. 1 seed in the West, adding more fuel to the NBA's hottest young rivalry."
With the Thunder at 40-13 and the Spurs at 36-16, it's going to be tight as the season winds down. These are two young teams that have the potential to contend for championships for years to come, and they both want to include this year in that plan.
The last time the Thunder did not have the best record in the Western Conference was back in the 2022-23 season, and that is when Victor Wembanyam had not been drafted.
But there's one problem...
The Spurs now have the player with one if, if not the highest ceiling in NBA history.
Wemby is currently averaging 24 points and 11 rebounds per game, and he is doing so with great efficiency. Not to mention that some of the Spurs' other young players are starting to come into their own.
Particularly Stephon Castle.
He became the second Spur in history to record a 40-point triple-double, and the other one is one of the greatest to ever do it, in David Robinson. We all knew Castle could score the ball, but he is now averaging seven assists per game, which makes San Antonio even scarier.
If the Spurs' stars can play to the level that many know that they can for the rest of the season, they could find themselves standing alone at the top of the West when the year comes to and end.