Over the last three weeks, the San Antonio Spurs have had great success against the Oklahoma City Thunder, winning three games. The Spurs won both games against the Thunder in the back-to-back series, including the Christmas Day matchup. De’Aaron Fox had a team-leading 29 points and made three three-pointers, overshadowing Victor Wembanyama’s 19-point performance off the bench.

Following the 117-108 win over the reigning champions, former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins shared his two cents on the San Antonio Spurs. I’ve never seen the Oklahoma City Thunder get pumped, and a team make them look soft,” Perk said during his appearance on NBA on ESPN. “That’s what we were witnessing right now. And yes, Victor Wembanyama is a big part of their problem.”

Perkins also highlighted the strength in depth of San Antonio as a franchise, with several bench players having a strong impact on the game. He also praised Wembanyama and the Spurs for maintaining the spacing with big guards and wings.

“Victor Wembanyama is a big part of their (Thunder) problem. Jay Dub (Jay Williams) pointed that out last night in his interview, that when you have a 7’5” guy taking up so much space. But that’s not the only problem. The problem is that they have big guards. San Antonio have big guards and big wings.”

It was the San Antonio Spurs’ eighth straight win, but what was far more impressive was that it was the Thunder’s first loss at home this season. Spurs coach Mitch Johnson deserves a lot of credit for building this roster and also focusing on defense as San Antonio held the reigning champions to only 38.9% shooting from the floor, mainly because of their verticality, awareness, and physicality.

Victor Wembanyama hints Spurs have learned a lot about the Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder have only lost five games this season, and three of those have come against the San Antonio Spurs. So people have started to question whether the Spurs have found a way to beat Mark Daigneault’s team.

One thing is certain: the Spurs talisman Victor Wembanyama is enjoying the games against the reigning champions mainly because of the competitiveness. “This is like a playoff series. We learned a lot on the tactical side,” Wembanyama said, per Jordan Davis of The Oklahoman. “I don’t want to say too much about it. Keep something for us.”

One thing has to be said, it is only when Chet Holmgren is going up against Wemby that he has looked second-best. So having that verticality definitely helps the French Phenom, whereas Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox complement each other in the backcourt. Meanwhile, Dylan Harper has looked way more matured that just a rookie.

Mitch Johnson also has designated and important roles for Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell as they play hard on both ends of the court with a special focus on defense whenever they are playing against the Thunder.

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With their tight defense, they restricted the reigning MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, to only 22 points as he went 7-for-19 from the floor. He had an off day as he drained only a solitary three-pointer from his six attempts.

Overall, the Spurs look like a well-oiled machine. They have all the ingredients to be a title-winning team, starting from a young athletic backcourt to gutsy defenders, a charismatic leader, and a shrewd tactician in Johnson. But they need to maintain this consistency throughout the season, and then only can they fight for the Championship. For now, they definitely look like a team to beat.