The 2025-26 season has been a great one for the San Antonio Spurs, as they have risen to the top of the NBA totem pole and become one of the best teams in the association. And it's not just that Spurs are the Victor Wembanyama show; They have such a young and deep team that it can hit on all cylinders even if Vembanyama withdraws, and their 54-18 record on the season is the furthest thing from a fluke situation as it could be.
But make no mistake, Spurs' title hopes will hinge on Wembanyama and how far he can take this team, as franchise greats Tim Duncan and David Robinson did before him.
And prominent media member Bill Simmons, who has been a renowned student of the game for decades, believes Wembanyama is already keeping pace with some of the all-time greats compared to a similar point in his career.
"There's only been three years two guys have won titles that were first-team All-NBA, which was '99 (Tim) Duncan, '81 (Larry) Bird, and '71 Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar). I'm only mentioning it because I think he's in that league," Simmons said of Wambanyama on the latest episode of the Bill Simmons Podcast.
“And it feels weird to have all these names from the first 80 years in the league and be like holy man, these are the best names we have but I think that's what we're seeing.”
Only time will tell whether Vembanyama will be able to overcome this problem like those players did early in his career. After all, standing in his way is the Oklahoma City Thunder. But if there is anyone who has shown enough individual excellence to deserve consideration, it is the Spurs star.
The good thing is that the Spurs had a poor performance in the first two seasons of Wembanyama's career, giving them an opportunity to fill the roster with quality players. This makes him one of the best contenders in the association, and could make Simmons look like a visionary once again.
