The NBA's Next Great Rivalry Is About To Take Off

BusinessSportsMoneyThe NBA's Next Great Rivalry Is About To Take OffByBryan Toporek,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Bryan Toporek covers the NBA for Forbes Sports.Follow AuthorMay 16, 2026, 06:00am EDTSAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - DECEMBER 23: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder is fouled on a layup attempt by Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs during the game at Frost Bank Center on December 23, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images)Getty ImagesThroughout its 80-year history, the NBA has been built on rivalries.Bill Russell vs. Wilt Chamberlain. Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson. Michael Jordan vs. Isiah Thomas and the Bad Boy Pistons. LeBron James vs. Stephen Curry.The NBA is about to add the next chapter to that book.On Monday, the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs will meet for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. The Thunder are the reigning champions and are led by soon-to-be two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The up-and-coming Victor Wembanyama-led Spurs look like their biggest roadblock to multiple championships in the coming years.The Thunder and Spurs met five times during the 2025-26 regular season, including in the semifinals of the vaunted NBA Cup. The Spurs won the first three of those meetings and the final one, while the Thunder's lone win over the Spurs came in mid-January.Even more terrifying for the Thunder: Wembanyama came off the bench in each of those first three Spurs wins.Regular-season success doesn't always translate to the playoffs, though. Just ask the Toronto Raptors about how well they fared against the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers in the late 2010s. But thanks to Wembanyama and their star-studded backcourt, the Spurs do pose unique challenges to the Thunder in their quest to repeat.That could make for an epic Western Conference Finals—and a launching pad for the NBA's next great rivalry to...