I am not well.
Allow me to clarify. Physically, I’m doing great. I’ve been going on morning jogs more often; I’m working on eating well (though McDonald’s Japan just dropped spicy McNuggets, and I’m only a man). I feel energetic and healthy, despite my seared corneas due to my numerous hours spent playing Mina the Hollower on my Nintendo Switch 2.
Career-wise, I’m very pleased with my momentum, as I’m currently writing more than ever and broadening my horizons beyond the world of sports. I’m writing Utah Jazz content daily, and even recording a (rough) weekly podcast about the NBA and Utah’s place in it — apologies for that digging into my increasingly limited time and bandwidth for my posts on SLC Dunk. Add to that the fact that I even picked up work as a video games journalist (print and digital), and I’m booked. But incredibly happy.
But despite the positive momentum in my personal life, I bore witness to the Western Conference’s dramatic changing of the guard. I beheld as a 22-year-old Victor Wembanyama led his fledgling San Antonio Spurs past the flailing defenses of the title-defending Oklahoma City Thunder, and I cheered for the champion’s demise. And though I smiled as San Antonio claimed the Western crown, I know deep in my heart that San Antonio would be the team I cheer against this time a year from now. Should Wemby lead his forces to victory against the Knicks and their Villanovan power of friendship, the target of scrutiny will fall upon his goliath shoulders.
But that pressure doesn’t bother me; the natural ebb and flow from underdog to champion is the natural order of competition, and I have no stake in the Spurs’ well-being.
But knowing that the Utah Jazz intend to vie for a championship in the coming years, the road leads through San Antonio from this point forward — or Oklahoma City will win one back over their adversaries next season, and that’s not a whole lot better.
The Western Conference is controlled by warring titans, and the Utah Jazz’s chances of scaling the colossus do not do a lifelong Jazz fan well — very little does a lifelong Jazz fan well, come to think of it.
Thus, I am not well, for Utah is finally ready to compete, and I will be compelled to invest myself in their journey. I know what the Jazz are up against, and it does not inspire hope.
Fortunately, the Utah Jazz do not approach their inevitable clash with the West’s captors without a weapon, as I believe Utah’s lineup is shockingly well-equipped to brave the challenge before them. Matching Wembanyama with a single player is an effort in futility — there is no one player like Wemby — but the Utah Jazz can take a page from Billy Beane’s playbook and recreate Wembanyama in the aggregate.
Take a look at this highly scientific Venn Diagram, which should illustrate my point.
Get the picture?
I look to Utah’s front court tandem of Walker Kessler, one of basketball’s most effective shotblockers at 7’2”, and Jaren Jackson Jr., a former Defensive Player of the Year who can space the floor on the offensive end and has an undefeated record against Victor Wembanyama in head-to-head matchups. Were these games played before Wembanyama and the Spurs became the 60-win behemoth we see today? Yes. Do I choose to ignore logic for the sake of optimism? Also yes, as is my right as a fanatic.
The Spurs are a horrifying basketball team, and if history tells us anything, it’s that players like Wembanyama win plenty of championships. If the Utah Jazz — or any team in the NBA — want to take home the NBA Finals trophy, they’ve got to get through the Spurs.
That horrifies me to my core.
We’ll have to wait and see if they can keep their trajectory this year against New York.
Calvin Barrett is a writer, editor, and prolific Mario Kart racer located in Tokyo, Japan. He has covered the NBA and College Sports since 2024.
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