PSA: The Spurs are our most hated rival after the Celtics and it ain’t particularly close.
I’m not saying anyone needs to root for the Thunder. They just beat us and aren’t likable either. But we need to nip this soft spot for the Spurs in the bud. Other than the Boston Celtics, there has been no team that has been a more fierce rival to the Lakers than the Spurs. They’ve embarrassed the Lakers numerous times in the playoffs. They’ve openly mocked our misfortune. They’ve deliberately tried to sabotage our team building on numerous occasions.
The Spurs openly organize the small market owners to change the the rules to harm the Lakers at every single CBA and governors meeting going back to the 1990s. The Lakers and Spurs have never once traded with each other since Popovich joined the team in the 1990s.
Popovich was the one who pushed Cuban to be the face of the CP3/trade veto but the Spurs organized the votes to force Stern to do the veto. When Kawhi asked to be traded to the Lakers the Spurs refused, held him against his wishes and then spite traded him to Toronto instead. When the Lakers tried to obtain AD, Popovich literally flew down to NoLa and pleaded with Dell Demps not to trade with us; leading Demps to getting fired but wasting the first year of LeBron in LA.
The Spurs have beaten the Lakers in the playoffs numerous times and have always mocked us afterwards. The Spurs were the team that knocked Kobe out of the playoffs at the end of his career and Duncan was smiling at the frustrated Lakers the whole time.
There’s a ton of other examples. I’m not saying one should root for the Thunder. But under no circumstances should any Laker fan be rooting for the damn Spurs. Root for them both to lose and for whomever comes out of the east to win.
Same goes for the Celtics.