San Antonio Is Coming for Everyone

Preseason power rankings are basketball’s annual exercise in wishful thinking. Every contender believes this is the year. Every superstar is leaner, healthier and more motivated. Every front office is convinced its summer moves solved last season’s problems. They didn’t. With opening night approaching, five teams stand above the rest: the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics. Most rankings place those teams in some variation of the top five. But they are not equals. One looks like the future. One looks like the favorite. One carries the crown. One is a science experiment. One refuses to go away. 1. San Antonio Spurs - The Spurs lost the Finals to the Knicks. That is exactly why they should be No. 1. Championship contenders are supposed to arrive after years of playoff scars. San Antonio skipped the line. Led by Wembanyama, the Spurs reached the Finals while their core remains years away from its peak. That is the frightening part. The league already knows what Oklahoma City is. It knows what New York, Boston and Philadelphia are. Nobody knows what the Spurs will become. Not even San Antonio. Victor Wembanyama is already…