Stephon Castle Makes Bold Claim About Spurs' Talent Compared to Thunder After G6 Win

The San Antonio Spurs are flush with self-belief after pushing the Western Conference Finals to a Game 7 in the NBA playoffs on Thursday.

Speaking with the NBC crew following a 118-91 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, guard Stephon Castle said he and his teammates "feel like collectively that we're better than this team."

"We didn't want to let our fans down on our home court either," he said. "Coming out here with a chance to go back to OKC and play a Game 7, I feel like that's all the motivation we need."

The Thunder only finished two games better than the Spurs in the standings, but the reigning champions headed into the postseason as the obvious favorites. Oklahoma City had shown its title bona fides, while the current iteration of San Antonio was unproven at this stage.

With the conference finals deadlocked at 3-3, Castle's assessment might be on the money.

Victor Wembanyama is a singular talent who's showing a level of poise belying his age (22). Even for an opponent as good as the Thunder, there's only so much they can do to slow down a player with Wembanyama's size and skill.

Castle, Devin Vassell, De'Aaron Fox, Dylan Harper and Julian Champagnie are all supplementing the Spurs' best player nicely as well. They're averaging double figures in scoring across the series, with Castle and Fox each dishing out six-plus assists per game.

Castle has also played a pivotal role in frustrating Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The two-time MVP is shooting 37.9 percent overall.

Game 7 will be the ultimate barometer. Perhaps the Spurs have arrived well ahead of schedule and already overtaken Oklahoma City in the Western Conference hierarchy.