The Spurs have been at the center of the NBA's biggest hype train lately, and they've earned that publicity. The question of whether they're capable of winning a title has been the biggest talking point, and Zach Lowe believes San Antonio bears striking similarities to a few other teams who made unexpected trips to the finals in recent years.
"The Spurs, despite the no-experience thing, are not far from the archetype of the 2020 Heat, 2021 Suns, and 2025 Pacers... To me, healthy Wembanyama plus Fox is sort of like the equivalent of just adding a superstar player to your team in the more traditional way that those teams did." - Zach Lowe said on the Zach Lowe Show.
To Lowe's point, Miami's trip to the finals that year was Jimmy Butler's first with the team. Chris Paul's presence in Phoenix immediately catapulted them to their first trip to the championship series since Charles Barkley took them to meet Michael Jordan's Bulls. Pascal Siakam's first full season with Indiana ended in a Game 7 loss to OKC. The logic here is pretty sound.
Fox is the Spurs' x-factor
Siakam is the only one who, at least, gained a bit of experience with the Pacers team since he was traded at the deadline of the previous season. However, the similarities between the three situations are still close enough to draw comparisons. Rick Carlisle spoke about something similar in the offseason. Depth is king in this league now, and leaning into it can take you far.
Like those previously named teams, the Spurs have a ton of depth on this roster. They can come at you in waves, and their identity is primarily built on swarming defense that funnels you toward an athletic skyscraper. I get what Lowe meant when he made his statement, but you truly only need Fox to make that case.
We've seen Swipa get going offensively and put the entire scoring load on his back. He's explosive with the ball in his hands, and he's not a bad defender. He's a star in his own right. Adding him was the perfect jolt for a young team who had a tendency to get bogged down on that end occasionally.
On the Wemby side of things, I think it's kind of absurd to talk about combining him with anyone. If you merge Vic's anything with Kyle Anderson, you would have a super soldier alien. Joining him with De'Aaron Fox is basically Thanos with the Infinity Stones built into his chest like the Iron Man crystal.
Hey, why don't we combine Muhammad Ali with Pernell Whitaker? Walter Payton with Jamaal Charles? Well, because that would be insane, that's why. Victor will be enough of a problem on his own, and so will Fox. The depth is still the depth, and they already had their superstar, but the adding of the second beast makes them the title threat people are beginning to fear.