Wemby, Spurs vs. SGA, Thunder Compared to Magic, Lakers vs. Bird, Celtics by NBA Exec

The Western Conference Finals series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs is being hyped as one of the most monumental showdowns of the NBA's modern era.

ESPN's Tim Bontemps spoke to a Western Conference scout who compared the budding rivalry between the Thunder and Spurs to the historic Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers rivalry that was spearheaded by Hall of Famers Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.

"This is the start of [another] Magic vs. Bird," the scout said.

Oklahoma City and San Antonio were the two best teams in the NBA in the regular season, going 64-18 and 62-20, respectively. The Spurs won the regular-season series against the Thunder 4-1, establishing themselves as a real threat to the defending champs.

However, Oklahoma City recently got the last laugh when Thunder star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named NBA MVP for the second straight year ahead of Spurs star center and Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama, who placed third.

Wembanyama is also known to have a longstanding rivalry with Thunder center Chet Holmgren dating back to their days at the youth level on the international circuit. Holmgren placed second in the voting for Defensive Player of the Year behind Wembanyama, who became the first player to win the award unanimously.

It all creates an exciting conference finals series that could go down as a pivotal moment in NBA history.

"This has a chance to go down as one of the best series of the past decade," an Eastern Conference executive told Bontemps.

"This is the Finals," a West assistant coach declared.

The Spurs and Thunder will try to establish supremacy in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Monday night in Oklahoma City.