Even though they have a once-in-a-lifetime talent like Victor Wembanyama on the roster, there weren't a lot of people who were betting on the San Antonio Spurs to be anywhere near the top tier of teams in a super-tough Western Conference.
After all, the Spurs were coming off a 34-48 season, missing out on the playoffs and finishing 13th in the West. There wasn't a lot to be excited about in their off-season as well, losing veteran point guard Chris Paul in free agency, but they did snag a couple of solid draft picks in Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant . Still, that really wasn't enough for the experts to buy in on the young Spurs.
About five months and 65 games later, the Spurs are sitting comfortably at the second seed with a 48-17 record. League-wide, they're also the second-best team, behind only the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder , who have already clinched another 50-win season.
This improbable Spurs season has analyst and podcaster Bill Simmons comparing them to the early-90s Chicago Bulls , who were anchored by a certain somebody named Michael Jordan.
"I don't know if this is the '90 Bulls or the '91 Bulls, but we're in that vicinity with this team, where you have a potential generational star, and you have a loaded young cast, and the only question is when is this all gonna come together? That's where we are now with this team," Simmons said on an episode of his show The Bill Simmons Podcast .
"Christmas was when I said that they can win the championship, and nothing has changed. In fact, it's just gotten clearer to me that despite the experience factor, and they would be somewhat anomalous among championship teams, they have enough, and they have a guy who's a top-five guy," added Simmons' co-host, fellow NBA analyst and insider Zach Lowe.
1991 was the year that the Bulls kick-started the dynastic run that saw them win six championships in eight seasons, and that "pioneering roster," so to speak, holds a lot of parallels with this season's Spurs.
For starters, both teams are built around generational superstars in Jordan and Wembanyama. At that point, Jordan was already the best player in the league, and that season, he averaged 31.5 points, six rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game. This season, Wembanyama is posting averages of 24.2 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. While Wembanyama isn't at that "Best Player in the World" discussion yet, he's inching very close, and as Lowe stated, he's already arguably a top-five player in the league.
Both the '91 Bulls and the '26 Spurs also have a solid number two in Scottie Pippen and De'Aaron Fox. Apart from being the Bulls' second-leading scorer, Pippen was also a lockdown defender and was more than capable of making plays for himself and his teammates. Fox, meanwhile, is a top-tier scorer and playmaker, and can take over games himself when needed.
Alongside both teams' dynamic duos were a solid cast of players that included the likes of Horace Grant, BJ Armstrong, John Paxson, and Bill Cartwright for the Bulls, and Stephon Castle , Devin Vassell , Keldon Johnson , Julian Champagnie , Dylan Harper, and Harrison Barnes for the Spurs.
While both teams are offensively gifted, it's their defense that puts them at an even higher level. Jordan and Pippen were elite perimeter defenders, while Wembanyama is an elite rim protector, and as the old adage goes, "Defense wins championships."
And while the supporting cast is a big reason why the Spurs are where they are now, having an all-world talent like Wembanyama makes all the difference.
There's nothing left to be said about how unfair it is that Wembanyama is a seven-foot-four "small forward" that can run the floor, score from inside and out, and defend at an elite level.
And he's only 22 years old.
"It's like these guys that, when you're watching a basketball game, like, 'Does this guy seem a little different than everyone else in the game?' and the answer is yes, he does. He's doing all these things I don't watch other players do," Simmons said, explaining how similar Jordan and Wembanyama are.
"You mentioned how the Spurs play unselfishly, super competitive, super hard. They drafted a bunch of guys who play that way, but when your best player is unselfish, and Wembanyama is unselfish - one of my favorite things about him, and plays super hard," Lowe added.
"This team could win the title, like for real. That's not even a hot take anymore," Simmons concluded.
At the end of the day, the Thunder are still the clear favorites, but if there's a team that could potentially dethrone the defending kings, a safe bet would be the other top-tier team that's beaten the Thunder thrice this season.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Mar 12, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
