With a showdown between Victor Wembanyama and Luka Dončić on Thursday evening, the San Antonio Spurs will have the chance to showcase their new squad against a true Western Conference opponent.

Last season, the Mavericks botched Wembanyama's NBA debut after surviving a San Antonio push late in the game. This year they have a home game and another chance to beat Spurs 0-1, although expectations are slightly higher for both sides.

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Wembanyama is looking to set a new record this season after a year under his belt, while Dončić and Co. are hoping to reach the NBA Finals again. However, these are the short goals.

Bleacher Report outlined some broader goals involving both Dončić and the French phenom in its annual animated series “Hero Ball.”

“The age of Wembanyama is approaching,” it said before the Spurs prodigy was introduced as a hulking, slender figure taking control of “Playoff Mountain” after Gregg Popovich ushered in a third Spurs era that would see the other stars of the league should eclipse.

The short film is largely about Chris Paul guiding Anthony Edwards, Joel Embiid and Dončić through basketball purgatory. The three stars are told to flee through their championship windows before Wembanyama can get to them in a largely over-the-top display of special talent and poor French.

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Paul then follows Wembanyama and Popovich through the Spurs window under the pretense that he would get another chance to compete, although the rest remains unclear.

“Hero Ball” is a satire, and this film was certainly an example of that, but it says something that Wembanyama seems to be portrayed as the up-and-coming “villain” to be defeated in the West.

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