The French star acknowledged that the Spurs still have a long way to go to be the OKC's legitimate rivals
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn't mind the San Antonio Spurs being a major threat to the Oklahoma City Thunder, as the reigning league MVP believes that the two could share the NBA's biggest rivalry in the future.
Victor Wembanyama
Victor Wembanyama
Victor Wembanyama
MIN: 33.59
PTS: 25.85 (60.37%)
REB: 12.62
As: 3.85
ST: 1.08
BL: 3.46
TO: 3.69
GM: 13
But as much as he hears and understands the growing basketball nemesis between the two teams, Victor Wembanyama made it clear that he and the Spurs still have a long way to go to make it a convincing discussion.
"I think we're not quite there yet, but it's a good sign that people see that it's possible because it's not like we're the second tier right now, and I don't think anybody right now can claim to have a rivalry with them in the league," Wembanyama said on Monday about the rivalry talk between OKC and his Spurs team. "They're in their own tier.
"But in the future, if we can provide that they stay just as good and we reach that level, of course, it would be great to have a rivalry."
Wemby and the Spurs delivered a major statement this past weekend when they eliminated the Thunder in the NBA Cup semifinal round with a 111-109 win, giving the Thunder their second loss of the season after a historic 25-game start.
For this, San Antonio has demonstrated that it can compete and go toe-to-toe with the best. But it's also interesting how the French star is mindful enough to consider that Oklahoma City is still on another level.
The Thunder are the defending champions and are still positioned to go back-to-back. For the Spurs, amid an impressive 18-7 record so far, they first must have to break the franchise's six-year-long drought of not making it to the NBA Playoffs within the competitive Western Conference.
Should they pull it off once the regular season ends, the Spurs have at least taken a significant step in legitimately matching up against the Thunder.
"If you're at the top and you have a rivalry, it means you're in the best position to win titles, so I'm very interested in it," Wembanyama added.
Both the Spurs and the Thunder will meet for four more games in this regular season, which definitely sets them up to further ignite their modern-day rivalry.
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