76ers’ LeBron James sends warning to Thunder doubters amid Spurs’ rapid ascension

The San Antonio Spurs beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals 4-3 last season in what was one of the most entertaining playoff series in recent memory. Much of the credit went to Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs' young core, specifically the likes of Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle.

LeBron James believes that the Thunder, as a result, are being underestimated as far as projections for the upcoming season are concerned. Speaking to Steve Nash on Mind the Game, the Philadelphia 76ers star claimed that NBA fans should not be so quick to write the Thunder off, per a post on X by NBA Courtside.

"I think it's very important that we as fans of the game and the casuals don't write off OKC just yet," he said. "I mean, because you're so intrigued with obviously Victor and rightfully so and what they bring to the table and obviously the young guys, Dylan Harper, you know, and Stephon Castle you love what they bring to the game. And I love watching those guys. They're unbelievable, but we quick to turn the page a lot faster than we should."

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Wembanyama's rise in the NBA has been extremely drastic despite the Spurs' main man being limited to just 46 games in the 2024-25 season. He won the Defensive Player of the Year award last season and finished third in MVP voting, and is largely expected to help San Antonio mount regular title challenges in the coming seasons.

The Spurs have also made the right moves in recent offseasons and have an extremely talented young core that is only going to improve alongside Wemby in the coming time. At the same time, the Thunder not only have a similarly talented roster, they were also the No. 1 team in the West last season after finishing the regular season with a 64-18 record, pipping the Spurs by two wins.

They may have come up short against San Antonio when it mattered the most, but actually led the series twice before the Spurs won the final two games to qualify for the Finals. There is little that OKC continues to one of the top teams in the NBA, and not many will be surprised if they end up putting together another title run in the coming campaign.