Sneaker Rivals: Oklahoma City Thunder vs San Antonio Spurs

Victor Wembayama of the San Antonio Spurs is one of the NBA’s most popular young superstars, and he just so happens to believe in ethical basketball. Everybody outside of the state of Oklahoma thinks the Thunder plays basketball at such an unethical level that they are both the smartest team in the sport and the most annoying to watch.

From the outset, you can see how this first-time playoff matchup between this iteration of the Spurs led by Wemby and the Thunder under the helm of reigning two-time NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the eagerly anticipated Western Conference Finals in a long time. But the basketball fandom is not the only one paying super close attention.

When the Spurs defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round, Nike dropped a clapback for all the times adidas and Anthony Edwards took a shot at Nike and Jordan Brand athletes, even Wemby himself.

With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander signed to Converse and thus under the Nike umbrella, it’s highly unlikely we will see something similar ready should the Spurs win the series. No disrespect to Jalen Williams, but it would be punching down at an extreme level. And should the Thunder beat the Spurs, Converse biting the hand that feeds them would be wild on a number of different levels. We would love to see it, but it would be extremely bizarre.

With Wemby and Chet Holmgren expected to get very chippy throughout the course of this series that, in a best case scenario, will stretch out to seven games, our only hope for any type of sneaker pettiness might have to come from competitor brands like adidas and Under Armour. Jalen Williams’ injury has limited his effectiveness and exposure in this year’s playoffs, but he will be healthy going into this series for adidas while De’Aaron Fox is UA’s lone signature athlete and their most prominent at this point. Here’s what we hope will turn out on the sneaker side of this series and a look back at the last time the Thunder and Spurs faced off in the playoffs.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Starting Five: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Converse), Chet Holmgren (Nike), Jalen Williams (adidas), Lugentz Dort (adidas), Jared McCain (Jordan Brand)

Sixth Man: Alex Caruso (Nike)

Despite being the league’s reigning and defending MVP and someone who figures to be in contention for the award and the Larry O’Brien trophy for years to come, one would think more attention would be paid to SGA. Of course, he’s in commercials and Converse has done a phenomenal job in the rollout of the Shai 001, but there is a feeling more could be done. Perhaps it has to do with the narratives both real and invented by hot take artists who are not too fond of his ability to draw fouls with precision.

If SGA had, for example, Anthony Edwards’ personality there might be a difference in the way he is treated outside of the court. Thankfully, we have not had to talk about the Shai 001 in the same way as the sneaker has delivered creatively. For the first two rounds, Shai has worn a new colorway with a premium designation and that will continue into the West Finals with the new Slither colorway. The dream scenario would be debuting the Shai 002 in the NBA Finals but we’ll discuss that if/when it happens.

Chet Holmgren raised some eyebrows a few years back home when he starred in a commercial for Kevin Durant’s signature shoe line. Since then, Chet has been Nike’s go-to with PEs for KD’s latest sneakers, complete with his own signature logo. We haven’t seen Chet wear the Nike KD 19 so far, but it would not be surprising to see him move on from his KD 18 PEs to something more up to date as people tune in to see the much-anticipated battle between himself and Victor Wembanayama.

But he’s not the only current OKC star to benefit from a former OKC star’s signature shoes as Jalen Williams recently appeared with James Harden for an ad that hints at Williams’ future. Before we get to that, though, his present involves a lot of adidas Harden Vol. 9 and Vol. 10 exclusives, including some that have been released at retail like the multi-color Thunderbolt Vol. 10.

One of the reasons the Thunder have become the top villains of the NBA that doesn’t involve bizarre generation-spanning hate for the 17-time World Champion and one-time NBA Cup Los Angeles Lakers is the play of one Lugentz Dort. Yes, the Montreal native and purveyor of the Dorture Chamber is quickly approaching Bruce Bowen levels of disdain from fans which is different from Dylan Brooks and Patrick Beverly disdain because Dort and Bowen are actually champions.

That hasn’t stopped adidas from showing their appreciation for Dort, however, as they recently gifted him a “Metal of Honor” player exclusive that references the medal of honor he received from his home region of Quebec back in 2021.

Jared McCain is a member of the OKC Thunder and people are still trying to make sense of how and why. Last season’s early favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award before injuries cut his year short is now a complementary piece for the Thunder, who don’t have to worry about carrying the team. Actually, McCain’s biggest worry might be with Jordan Brand.

He should start making some calls because he has yet to receive an Air Jordan 40 player exclusive in months, limiting him to just the Air Jordan 39. And ever since his contract with Alex Caruso ended in 2023, the former Laker legend* has contributed greatly to the total minutes the Nike Kobes 4, 5, and 6 has been on the court for the past few years.

*He’s more of an ironic Laker legend than an actual legend of the purple and gold but he will always be appreciated by the fandom even as he finds ways to annoy the Lakers wherever they play.

San Antonio Spurs

Starters: Victor Wembanyama (Nike), De’Aaron Fox (Under Armour), Dylan Harper (Nike)

Reserves: Julian Champagnie (Nike), Carter Bryant (Jordan Brand), Harrison Barnes (Jordan Brand)

Wemby is only one postseason in and he’s already starting to develop a pattern with his sneaker choices. It could just be a total coincidence and he just wore whatever he happened to have available, but during the Spurs series against the Portland Trail Blazers and the Minnesota Timberwolves, Wemby has worn a more colorful PE of the Nike GT Hustle early on before swapping to the more standard black, white, and grey pairs as the series progresses. If he rocks a stunning never-before-seen PE for Game 1 before transitioning to the old reliable colorways later on, it might not be a coincidence anymore.

De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper have also stayed consistent during this playoff run with their sneaker choices. Between the black and white and triple black colorways of the Under Armour Fox 3 that’s been a staple of the Spurs playoff run is a new white and silver colorway that fits right in with the Spurs aesthetic. Here’s hoping that Under Armour gives Fox a Fiesta-themed PE that matches up with the colorful shirts that the fans have been wearing throughout the playoffs.

During warm-ups for Game 2, Dylan Harper wore a Nike Kobe 6 Kay Yow to break up the cycle of Nike GT Cut 1s, but he ended up going with his Titan collab that includes his personal logo. Despite being a rookie, Harper has thrived in his role as a backup point guard which can only mean scary days for the rest of the league as the years progress and he moves up to take Fox’s spot, or, in a move that might be even scarier, he becomes this generation’s Manu Ginobili and is the best sixth man of a generation.

With the Spurs being the first NBA team we’ve featured twice on Sneaker Rivals, here’s a look at the other critical reserves on the team. Carter Bryant and Harrison Barnes are both Jordan Brand athletes, although Barnes has a deeper history with the brand that includes Michael Jordan clowning him for wearing Kobes when he was still in college. Yup, that’s a thing that really happened.

After beginning his NBA journey with adidas (which surely pleased MJ), Barnes returned to Jordan Brand a few years ago and has been wearing a variety of Air Jordan 40s this season including the North Carolina PE. Bryant started this season wearing the Air Jordan 40 but has been rocking the women’s exclusive Jordan Heir Series 2 during the playoffs.

Julian Champagnie might not be a household name, but he is quickly becoming a Spurs favorite thanks to a handful of big games in his playoff debut. His Nike arsenal has been a regular rotation of Kobes and Book 1s, but if he shows out even more in this postseason, he could start getting some exclusives his way sooner than later.

Historical Matchup: Thunder versus Spurs (2016)

It’s been a decade since the last time the Thunder and Spurs faced off in the playoffs, which resulted in a 4-2 victory by OKC. It’s historically significant for a number of reasons that only became evident in hindsight.

• It’s the final playoff series of Tim Duncan’s career
• It’s the last playoff series Kevin Durant won for OKC
• It’s the end of the short and ignominious run of the Nike KD 8 Elite

The highly divisive and clowned on Nike KD 8 Elite featured a built-in compression sleeve that probably sounded good in the design meetings but did not live up to expectations when it hit the court. KD only wore the Elite for Game 1 before going back to the standard KD 8.

As for Kawhi Leonard, it was simpler times with Jordan Brand and his awesome Klaw logo. Against OKC, Leonard wore a PE version of the Air Jordan XX9 with the Klaw logo in Spurs black and white.

Juan Martinez

From video game journalism to veteran of the sneaker blog era to podcasting about well, everything, Juan is smiling through it all and can't believe this is his life. After recently getting into Formula 1, he now has hot takes about who the greatest driver of all time is. Email: juan@soleretriever.com