The NBA is best when there are rivalries, the kind when players seemingly hate the thought of even being around the other team.
Think Bulls-Pistons, Lakers-Celtics or Heat-Knicks.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, the team that had dominated the first two months of the season with a 23-1 record, have found their foil in the San Antonio Spurs.
Over the past 13 days, the Spurs — relative upstarts who are probably ahead of schedule on a path to legitimate title contention — have defeated the Thunder three times. The losses have come on a neutral floor (in the NBA Cup semifinal in Las Vegas), on the road in San Antonio and at home in Oklahoma City.
And, best thing for hoops fans, is that there’s this apparent disdain simmering underneath it all.
Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama has been the primary catalyst behind this. Weeks away from turning 22, Wembanyama’s personality has fully blossomed since the start of this season. In press availabilities, Wembanyama has been direct and honest, if not entirely unfiltered. Not surprisingly, the Thunder have not been off-topic.
When a reporter recently asked Wembanyama in French about whether there was any rivalry between him and Oklahoma City big man Chet Holmgren, Wembanyama didn’t mince words.
“No, I don’t think about that,” Wembanyama said, according to the reporter’s translation. “At least from a basketball standpoint, there’s no comparison (between us).”
Now, there may have been something lost in translation and perhaps Wembanyama was trying to convey a difference in playing style, but his body language during the exchange and the literal translation hint toward a deeper resentment.
Wembanyama actually used a phrase common in France: “y’a pas photo,” which is short for “il n’y a pas photo,” whose literal translation is “there is no photo.” An allusion to horse racing, the idiom refers to photo finishes and essentially declares: it’s not even close.
Then, during their Christmas Day game Thursday, Dec. 25, the apparent pettiness spilled over on the court.
After Holmgren worked his way into the paint, he pump-faked Wembanyama multiple times to get him in the air. It worked. Once Holmgren saw Wembanyama out of position, he attempted a shot and tried to draw a foul.
Wembanyama, though, made sure to wrap up forcefully.
That wasn’t all. Holmgren missed both free throws, but after each miss, on-court microphones caught Wembanyama demonstratively shouting “hell yeah.”
This was not at all dissimilar from what Wembanyama did Dec. 13 when Holmgren missed a free throw during the Cup semis.
It’s next-level trolling — the kind that makes NBA rivalries sizzle.
Things between Wembanyama and Holmgren feel personal. The two have often been compared because of their size and ability to shoot and handle the ball, but they have also been competing since their teenage years on the FIBA circuit.
In a recent interview with ESPN, Holmgren was asked if he and Wembanyama had ever really spoken.
“Not a full sentence, I don’t think,” Holmgren said, before adding that people shouldn’t take that the wrong way. “We’ve just never really crossed paths.”
But it’s not only apparent contempt that is fueling this rivalry, it’s also a compelling contrast in basketball.
Wembanyama is the premier defensive force in the NBA; his size and presence make it so that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams — both of whom thrive inside the paint — are forced to alter their shots. San Antonio’s trio of speedy guards — De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and rookie Dylan Harper — push pace and compromise Oklahoma City’s stellar transition defense.
Put another way: the Spurs are the one team that present unique challenges to Oklahoma City’s dominance.
“You don’t lose three times in a row to the same team in a short span without them being better than you,” Gilgeous-Alexander said Thursday.
The Thunder know they have been put on notice, and they know that — as defending champions — they have targets on their backs. Oklahoma City is well-coached and deeply talented. They know their brand of basketball. Expect the Thunder to adjust before their next meeting against the Spurs, Jan. 13 in Oklahoma City.
But you better believe San Antonio isn’t accepting complacency, either.
“I’ve learned a lot,” Wembanyama said Thursday. “This is like a playoff series. We’ve played them three times … so we learned a lot on the tactical side, but I don’t want to say too much about it. I want to keep something for us.
“But we definitely got some intelligence, of course, after playing them so much.”
The obvious implication here being that these two will meet in the playoffs.
NBA fans can only hope.