SGA's Thunder vs Wemby's Spurs Is the Most Anticipated NBA Playoff Series Since…?

The world will be watching when back-to-back MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder take on unanimous Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs in the opening game of the Western Conference finals on Monday night.

It’s not only a battle between arguably the two best teams in the NBA, but it’s a contest between the two franchises with the best young cores in all of basketball. These two teams might meet countless times over the next decade to see who truly rules the West.

And better yet, both teams despise each other, as the Spurs trash-talked the reigning kings during the regular season by beating them in four of their five games against one another.

The star quality is there. The hatred is there. The potential for future rematches is there.

When was the last time an NBA playoff series had this much anticipation behind it?

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In the era of parity, it’s been difficult for matches to have the same gravitas as in previous decades in the NBA, when teams cultivated rivalries by matching up year after year.

While an NBA Finals series would be the easiest answer, my answer actually goes back almost a decade to find a matchup where, personally, I had as much interest as a neutral party walking into it.

Funnily enough, it’s another Western final, this time in 2018, when the dynastic Golden State Warriors took on the Houston Rockets, with superstars James Harden and Chris Paul trying to win their first-ever ring.

The Rockets, who were lights out from the three-point line, knocked down the Warriors shockingly through the first five games of the series, heading into Game 6 with a chance to eliminate them.

But then the Warriors fought back in Game 6 before forcing a nightmarish Game 7 for the Rockets, where they went historically cold at the worst possible time, missing 27 three-point shots in a row en route to a loss to Golden State.

To make matters worse for the Rockets, they then watched as the Warriors beat up a depleted Cleveland Cavaliers team in a sweep, showing how close they were to a championship.

For the Spurs, who take on the role of the Rockets (albeit extremely much younger), they’ll hope that they don’t forget to shoot in the deep waters of what could be an instant classic of the league’s next great rivalry.

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This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 5:37 PM.