Hall of Famer Chris Webber on the Spurs’ Chances to Face OKC in West Finals

Victor Wembanyama got off a plane in San Antonio after his ejection game and the first person waiting to talk to him was Gregg Popovich.

Hall of Famer Chris Webber, Popovich's former player and longtime friend, did not pretend to know what was said. He had a strong guess.

"I've known Popovich a long time," Webber said. "He was my assistant coach as a rookie under Don Nelson, and we've shared a friendship. The man that I know Coach Popovich to be is to hold you accountable. And hold you accountable in a space that could be uncomfortable, because he wants you to understand. And then he lifts you up and puts a battery in your back."

The fight comp Webber reached for came naturally.

"It's almost like being Tyson with his great cornerman in the corner telling you you could do it, or challenging you," Webber said. "I don't know what was said, but I would bet anything that one was an accountability aspect of it. There was a joke in between. And then it was, how we going to do this and how we're going to go forward."

The bigger point Webber wanted to make was about why Popovich's hands are still on the franchise even when he is not on the sideline.

"Popovich is a great man, and that's why early in the season, San Antonio was my favorite to win the championship," Webber said. "Because he's in the locker room. You don't have to have the clipboard on the sideline to have impact, and you can feel his impact all over San Antonio and throughout the NBA."

Webber's deeper observation was about how Popovich extends the franchise across generations.

"Look at his demeanor, how he keeps the older guys from the team around," Webber said. "Those are his fingerprints. And what it does is it reinforces your tenets of your organization to new players that come in. They can lean and say, hey Timmy, you've gone through this. Hey, David. Hey, Sean Elliott. They're all available. A lot of organizations don't do that, and that's why they have no identity besides one great season or what happened last year."

The identity in San Antonio, Webber said, starts at the top.

"The heart and soul of that team in San Antonio starts with Coach Popovich," Webber said. "It starts with hard work, accountability, treating your fellow man right, and kicking some ass."

Wembanyama, in Webber's read, came back with all of that installed in him on the plane ride home. The challenge from earlier in the week had been about maturity. Wembanyama's response was that maturity and ferocity are not mutually exclusive.

The looming Western Conference Finals matchup is what Webber called the wagon. Oklahoma City has not lost in the playoffs yet. Webber loves what they have built.

"I love OKC," Webber said. "I love how they stand together after interviews. I love how they self-deprecate and they're cool with each other. So I love that team."

The whole season, in his framing, has been pointing at this matchup.

"Hasn't it been kind of OKC versus San Antonio, and the passion that we've seen in those games?" Webber said. "Even Wembanyama said earlier in the season, this is how we measure ourselves up against the best, and we want to be the best. Those are silent shots that, you know, we know you have the crown, but we're coming for you."

The cog Webber wants to talk about is De'Aaron Fox.

"To me, again, most people don't to the Fox dynamic," Webber said. "Everyone has a system, and the system of San Antonio is to have one of the greatest big fellows in the world and a point guard that can score and get in the paint with speed. And that's who Tony Parker was."

Parker, Webber said, led the league some seasons in points in the paint alongside Shaq, because the defense had to choose between him and a dominant big.

"Fox is really going to be an important cog in this," Webber said. "Because the speed of he, and maybe the MVP again, is going to be something special. So that gives us a Fox matchup. I can't wait. You can't knock Minnesota out yet, but I can't wait to see if they get to that next round."