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  "description": "Remembering an old friend while renewing the Thunder-Spurs rivalry",
  "path": "/fraternizing-with-the-enemy-so-long-san-antonio/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-30T18:15:57.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.dailythunder.com",
  "tags": [
    "Pounding the Rock",
    "J.R. Wilco",
    "Spurs-Thunder 2026",
    "through the Western Conference Finals of 2014",
    "Daily Thunder",
    "Subscribe now",
    "@s"
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  "textContent": "Everyone hates the algorithm, and most of our contributors and followers miss the good 'ol days of NBA Twitter. Like all nostalgia, our memories soften the worst parts of the past and highlight the good stuff. If you think the hate for Shai and OKC has peaked in 2026, you're missing the racist, demeaning vitriol that filled message boards about Russell Westbrook back in the early 2010s. But back then, the algorithm wasn't shoving the worst of it in our faces.\n\nAnyway, the crew at Pounding the Rock reached out before the conference finals to collaborate on their \"Fraternizing with the Enemy\" tradition that dates back to Thunder-Spurs playoff battles 15 years ago. PtR is still a part of SB Nation, where Welcome to Loud City used to exist. I once worked at WTLC under J.A. Sherman, or Andy, as PtR's editor-in-chief J.R. Wilco and I knew him privately. J.A. was there for all the ugly battles of the past, and somehow never, ever got down into the mud. (Andy and his family would want me to credit his faith for that composure and example, which I am more than happy to do).\n\nSadly, Andy passed away unexpectedly last winter. In memory of one of the kindest, most positive dudes to ever write and run a sports blog, we have been trading notes about Spurs-Thunder 2026, doing our best to exhibit the good-natured spirit \"J.A.\" put into everything he wrote and assigned. Even when the rivalry gets ugly.\n\nWe ended the series at the doorstep of Game 7, having crossed 13,000 words in 13 days of good faith banter and shared analysis while the flames of online rage engulf each team's respective fan bases. If either of us are tempted to be sore losers when the series finally ends, it won't be in honor of our friend.\n\n### **Before Game 1**\n\n**J.R.**\n\nI’ve said before that one of my favorite things about being editor-in-chief of this website is reaching out to the writers that cover other teams and having conversations with them. The Fraternizing with the Enemy series is one of the things of which I’m most proud from my tenure at PtR. So when I say that I very nearly took this series off, you’ll understand what a big deal that is.\n\nSee, running this website has brought me not only a lot of joy since 2010, but also a lot of friendships. Of those relationships that have developed over the years, none have been more important to me than the one that grew between J.A. Sherman and me. J.A. used to run Welcome to Loud City when it was a part of S.B. Nation, and we met as fellow blog managers. We frequently _Fratted_ together, and even did so through the Western Conference Finals of 2014 which Spurs fans remember fondly and Thunder fans less so.\n\nAs time went on and he left the sports blogging world, he became one of my closest friends. Last year, at the age of 49, he died. I don’t currently have the words to express what losing him has meant to me. Those of you who have experienced the loss of someone close to you know how foundation-shaking a thing it can be.\n\nI wrestled with the idea how best to honor him, and finally settled on continuing the series. I reached out to one of his former contributors, Cray, who currently runs the excellent Daily Thunder and has agreed to accompany me as our teams battle it out on the court. Please enjoy and discuss, but also remember my friend. His family misses him terribly, and so do I. This is for him.\n\n**Cray**\n\n12 years ago, but it seems like yesterday. The Spurs battles from that era were some of the best (i.e. most grueling and miserable until they were over) for Thunder fans. I still have nightmares about Derek Fisher guarding Tim Duncan in the post in 2014. And I bet Anthony Edwards’ in-game congrats in Game 6 didn’t wash away your memory of KD hugging his family in the final moments of the 2012 G6. Or maybe you’re a more well regulated fan than I am lol.\n\nI'm honored to be a part of such a tribute. We could all stand to be a little more like J.A. when yelling at the TV, muting our @s, and writing from the rollercoaster that every fanbase rides.\n\n**J.R.**\n\nI’ll admit that I’d completely forgotten Durant’s 2012 celebration. Candidly, 2014 put a lot of negative memories to rest. In some ways, it _does_ seem like yesterday. And in other ways it’s been long enough that it feels like forever. The DeMar DeRozan years. The Dejounte Murray years. The misses in the draft like Lonnie Walker and poor Josh Primo. Tearing down the team meant losing Derrick White and Jakob Poeltl; bottoming out meant learning to actually pay attention to the lottery. Not much fun.\n\nNightmares aren’t fun either, so I’m sorry that last year’s championship didn’t cleanse your subconscious of the trauma that the Beautiful Basketball Spurs inflicted on you and your fanbase. That’s the thing about zero sum games like professional sports. There’s no ultimate celebration for thee without misery for me. And it’s not just a single _me_. Every title-clinching team leaves a collection of bitter opposition fans in its wake.\n\n### This post is for subscribers only\n\nBecome a member to get access to all content\n\nSubscribe now",
  "title": "Fraternizing with the Enemy: So Long, San Antonio",
  "updatedAt": "2026-06-01T15:57:12.211Z"
}