It’s been a long (almost) five months since the Oklahoma City Thunder lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, but the 2026-27 NBA regular season is finally here, and the Thunder have the honor of playing on opening night in a WCF rematch in San Antonio against the Spurs.
OKC will look a little different on opening night compared to that Western Conference Finals series. Jalen Williams is finally healthy; Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins, and Isaiah Joe will be playing for different teams this season; and rookies Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz might end up working their way into the rotation at some point.
The Spurs look almost identical to what they put on the floor in their 4-1 NBA Finals loss to the New York Knicks. They added Tobias Harris, but he is currently out with a strained left calf. Their young squad is a little bit older and a little more experienced, however, and that goes a long way in the NBA.
The NBA’s newest great rivalry continues to grow, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder can no longer be considered the Goliath that everyone else has to try to take down. The Spurs have proven that they can slay the Western Conference giant, and now, they are a giant themselves behind Victor Wembanyama.
Neither team’s destiny will be decided in a regular-season game, let alone the first one of the season, but the discourse around these two rivals will undoubtedly grow even more out of control by the night’s end. The Thunder want to get their revenge from the WCF loss to San Antonio, and the Spurs have not exactly been quiet about their disdain for OKC. Whether or not Oklahoma City can get past the mental block that is the San Antonio Spurs won’t be completely settled in a single game, but a win against the reigning Western Conference Champs on their home court would go a long way.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 8:30 PM CT
Location: Frost Bank Arena (San Antonio, Texas)
Television: NBA on NBC and Peacock
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live tweets and discussion during the game
Game Notes: Oklahoma City Thunder Official Game Notes, San Antonio Spurs Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Cason Wallace
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Chet Holmgren
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Spurs
- PG: De’Aaron Fox
- SG: Stephon Castle
- SF: Dylan Harper
- PF: Devin Vassell
- C: Victor Wembanyama
Injury Report
Thunder
- Otega Oweh (right Achilles tendon repair surgery recovery) is OUT.
- Thomas Sorber (right knee surgery) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (lower back surgery) is OUT.
Spurs
- Tobias Harris (strained left calf) is OUT.
- Jayden Quaintance (right knee surgery) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder are 32-34 against the Spurs in the regular season (22-11 at home, 10-22 away, 0-1 at neutral location) and 13-12 against them in the playoffs (9-4 at home, 4-8 away).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City, the Thunder have won the season series with the Spurs 5 times, lost 8 times, and tied 5 times.
- The Thunder went 1-4 against the Spurs last season in the regular season (1-1 at home, 0-2 on the road, and 0-1 at a neutral location) before falling to the Spurs 4-3 (2-2 at home, 1-2 on the road) in the Western Conference Finals.