The NBA's new hot rivalry is between the OKC Thunder and San Antonio Spurs, as both are young, incredibly talented squads led by All-World players and bolstered by elite roster depth.
Halfway through the 2025-26 campaign, there's no doubt that this inter-conference feud has reached exciting new heights, with drama on and off the court constantly finding a way to link the two together.
Bleacher Report's latest bold prediction will only be "adding more fuel" to this heated rivalry, as writer Greg Swartz believes that the Spurs are destined to topple the defending champions as top dogs in the Western Conference standings come season's end.
Spurs predicted to dethrone Thunder as top seed in West
OKC finds itself heading into a perfect storm scenario during this second-half stretch, as they're not only riddled with widespread injuries to key players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Ajay Mitchell, but the second-seeded Spurs are actively surging, and their cornerstone, Victor Wembanyama, is gradually coming off his minutes restrictions now two months removed from a left calf strain.
Let's not forget that, like the rest of the league, the Thunder have had their fair share of troubles this year when squaring off against San Antonio.
Through five matchups, Oklahoma City has fallen to a putrid 1-4 record while being outscored by an average of roughly 12 points in each loss.
Needless to say, the Spurs hold the edge in the tiebreaker department.
However, only four wins behind in the standings and with two months still to go, it's rather realistic to believe that this qualifier may not be all that relevant come April, for the Thunder could find themselves in a world of trouble between now and then.
As noted, OKC is playing without its reigning MVP for the time being, with his estimated leave of absence stretching through at least the All-Star break.
They've already lost two straight without him in the fold here in February, and, unfortunately, are facing one of their toughest stretches of the campaign, with five of their remaining eight matchups in the month coming against true postseason threats.
For the final few months left on the regular season docket, it's also been determined that the Thunder have the second-hardest schedule ahead of them.
Add all this to the fact that San Antonio's still out to prove they belong in the playoff-contender conversation and that the Thunder are slated to use extra caution and, as Swartz predicts, "won't take the remainder of the regular season quite so seriously," and the case for the Spurs dethroning OKC as the top seed in the West sadly seems to have some serious validity to it.
Fortunately, regardless of how the final standings shake out, where these teams finish in the 2026 NBA Playoffs is what will ultimately matter most.