Fans of the defending NBA Champion Oklahoma City Thunder were left a lump of coal on Christmas Day. The San Antonio Spurs said “bah humbug” to OKC as they traveled into hostile territory and still pulled out their 3rd win against the Thunder this season, again in blowout fashion. The Spurs’ NBA Cup win over the Thunder was considered a fluke by many. The second win in San Antonio had some excuses built in, as the Thunder were undermanned and playing the second game of a back-to-back. This Christmas win in Oklahoma City is indicative of a trend – an alarming one for the rest of the NBA. The reigning MVP and OKC guard, Shai Gligeous-Alexander, said it best: “You don’t lose to a team three times in a row in a short span without them being better than you.” Today, the Spurs are better than the defending champions. It’s hard to have any other takeaway from this recent stretch than that. It doesn’t mean they will be better in the Playoffs, or are a shoo-in for the NBA Finals, but presently, they are better than the Thunder, and may just be the best team in the league right now. Just a year ago, San Antonio was closer to the worst in the NBA than it was the best. So what changed? A lot of the Spurs’ success has been thanks to the ability of their guard trio. De’Aaron Fox was nothing short of elite on Christmas, scoring 29 points, getting to the paint at will, and nailing three triples. Stephon Castle has the physicality to withstand OKC’s defensive pressure and bother them on the other end. Dylan Harper has been so impressive in his rookie season. His poise never falters even in the face of one of the best perimeter defenses in NBA history. On top of the personnel changes, there has been a major mindset shift in San Antonio. This isn’t a team playing like the plucky young group with an “ah shucks, we’re just happy to be here” mentality. The Spurs have a real killer instinct to them. They look like they want to personally dominate the Thunder in every aspect of the game. From top to bottom, there is a greater sense of urgency in this matchup than in some of the other games. At 23-7, the Spurs have the third-best record in the NBA. They are a game behind the Detroit Pistons and 2.5 behind OKC. They are riding an 8-game winning streak into a home stand against the Utah Jazz, Cleveland Cavaliers, and New York Knicks. There is a universe where San Antonio has the best record in the league before the end of the calendar year. It’s time to officially start talking about this team like the contenders they are. Takeaways: Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson should be in the Coach of the Year running, if he isn’t already. These games against OKC have been a coaching masterclass. The gameplan and preparation have been incredible. His timeouts and challenges have been well-timed and accurate. You could argue that the Thunder just missed wide-open threes against the Spurs, but those open looks were given intentionally by San Antonio’s defensive scheme. They want players like Alex Caruso to shoot 12 threes instead of SGA shooting 20 free throws. It’s the same defensive strategy that helped the Dallas Mavericks defeat the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals in 2024. Pop quiz! Who was on the Mavericks staff that year? That’s right, Sean Sweeney, associate head coach of the Spurs. Harper has been great all season, but has been particularly impressive in the last two games against OKC. Entire articles and videos have been made about Cason Wallace’s elite perimeter defense. Harper makes him look like just another guy when he’s handling the ball. It’s not like Harper is dazzling us with Kyrie Irving-esque ball-handling, but he’s just so solid and good with the basketball, and uses his body to create space better than any other rookie guard in recent memory. His 12 points won’t jump off the box score, but he was very impactful. Victor Wembanyama played 26 minutes on Thursday, the most he’s played since returning from injury. It seems like he’s getting ramped up now after logging multiple 20-minute games. His results were good, per usual. He had 19 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. OKC does a pretty good job of forcing Wembanyama to be a perimeter player, rather than beating them inside. The issue is Wemby has been shooting incredibly well since returning from injury. He made them pay on Thursday with a pair of threes and some mid-range jumpers. ...read more read less