The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder are two of the best teams in the NBA, and the league's best rivalry will be showcased three times in December.
The San Antonio Spurs can downplay Victor Wembanyama's rivalry with Chet Holmgren all they want. Granted, Wembanyama seems to have a personal rivalry with Jalen Brunson, although the Spurs and OKC Thunder, by nature of being the two best teams in the West, are the hottest rivalry in the league right now.
Of course, "rivalry" implies that the teams are evenly matched, and after the Spurs took a 2-0 series lead on Tuesday, it's hard to say that the Thunder are on their same level.
Wembanyama knows that Holmgren is lagging behind, and the disdain the Spurs have for the Thunder was on full display in the most recent win.
When asked by French reporter Maxime Aubin about the rivalry with Holmgren, Wembanyama was quick to shut it down.
"From a basketball standpoint, there’s no comparison," he summed up.
The rest of the Spurs have taken note. Keldon Johnson led the Spurs with 25 points, and he was full of energy during and after the game.
"I take pride in doing what my team needs me to do," Johnson said. "For me, it's being an energy guy, being a leader, being whatever, whatever, being adaptable to whatever role I need to be in for my team to be successful. I put my teammates first. I put my team first."\
Johnson wasn't the only Spur eager to get physical with Holmgren. Wembanyama, Harrison Barnes, and Luke Kornet all made him look like the smallest player out there.
Wemby's shove on Holmgren was clearly an offensive foul, but Luke Kornet got the last laugh.
The NBA is at its best when there's a clear rivalry between two of the best teams in the NBA. The Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, and the more modern Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors are prime examples of that.
Even the LeBron James/Tim Duncan Spurs/Heat rivalry, which was generally respectful, made the NBA better. Granted, none of those teams were in the same conference, so their regular-season battles didn't draw as much attention.
The Spurs and Thunder, not Wemby and Chet, are the best rivalry in the league right now. Fans will be treated to a Christmas Day showcase tomorrow between these two teams, and the season series will be wrapped up early in January, letting the playoff race really kick off.
Suddenly, the Thunder have a very real threat to take the first seed. Wembanyama and the Spurs are nipping at their heels.