Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander entertained the notion his squad and the San Antonio Spurs could develop the NBA’s “best rivalry” within the next few years.
“Yeah, there’s a good chance,” he told reporters after Saturday’s 111-109 loss to San Antonio in the NBA Cup. “They, like you said, are young, really good, have a lot of talent, play the right way, they play good brand of basketball. But yeah. Yeah, definitely, definitely is a possibility. I’ve noticed that like anything could happen in a couple years. So like yeah, it’s definitely a possibility. Not 100 percent, but definitely a possibility for sure.”
Whereas geography often has a big say in a sport’s biggest rivalries, many of the marquee matchups in the NBA are forged in the playoffs.
The Boston Celtics playing Los Angeles Lakers is a showpiece occasion since they’ve met 12 times in the NBA Finals. Tensions between the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls were raised in the late 1980s and early 1990s because of their regular postseason encounters. The same was true for the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers during their four straight Finals battles.
The Thunder are set up to contend for years to come. Gilgeous-Alexander is the reigning MVP and in the prime of his career. Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell are all 24 or younger. Oklahoma City may add yet another lottery pick in the 2026 NBA draft.
In terms of competition in the Western Conference, the Spurs could emerge as a regular threat to OKC’s dominance.
On Saturday night, Victor Wembanyama had 22 points and nine rebounds in his first game back from a left calf strain. De’Aaron Fox, Devin Vassell and Stephon Castle all scored 20-plus points as well. This is the blueprint for San Antonio moving forward.
The Spurs and Thunder play four more times this year, with one of those games scheduled for Christmas Day. Should a playoff series follow in the summer, then this will have firmly broken into the rivalry tier.
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