NBA playoffs: What league insiders are watching in Spurs-Thunder - ESPN

Hype for the NBA's Western Conference finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs has come from across the league.

«This is the Finals,» a West assistant coach told ESPN.

«This has a chance to go down as one of the best series of the past decade,» an Eastern Conference executive said.

«This is the start of [another] Magic vs. Bird,» a West scout said.

Yes, Spurs-Thunder, a collision course of the league's two best teams that's felt months in the making, is here.

These two teams have stood atop the league for most of the season. They have two of the top three candidates for Most Valuable Player — Thunder guard and back-to-back winner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, who seems ready to assume his place as the sport's dominant force as soon as next week.

Both stars have dynamic talents surrounding them — Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren for the Thunder; De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle for the Spurs — not to mention other players emerging into starring roles in these playoffs, such as Ajay Mitchell for OKC and Dylan Harper for San Antonio.

It's a series that should have it all. And, to properly prepare, we talked to 10 league insiders — a sampling of coaches, scouts and executives — to take you inside the matchups to watch in Monday's Game 1 (8:30 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock) and beyond. (Of those 10, eight picked Oklahoma City to win the series.)

For all the understandable attention paid to Wembanyama, this was the topic most frequently mentioned throughout conversations over the weekend. And for good reason, as San Antonio's De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper will see waves of All-Defense-caliber pressure from Luguentz Dort. And Alex Caruso. And Cason Wallace.

«How do they