Spurs Vs. OKC: Who Starts? 5 Things to Watch as NBA Season Opens At Thunder

The San Antonio Spurs open the 2026-27 season at 8:30 p.m. CT Tuesday at Frost Bank Center against the Oklahoma City Thunder. NBC and Peacock have the game, the last of three on the league's opening-night schedule.

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson did not try to reinvent the wheel for the Thunder this offseason.

"I'll be there," Johnson said. "I'm sure it'll be a very highly competitive game. Two programs that obviously played a lot of games, as very well documented. And I'm just excited to get the season going. So I'm glad that opening night's tomorrow and there'll be some games and preseason's done."

San Antonio eliminated Oklahoma City in seven games in the Western Conference Finals in May, then lost the NBA Finals to the New York Knicks in five.

Johnson plans to start De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper together, with Devin Vassell and Victor Wembanyama. The group started one preseason game, Oct. 14 against the Phoenix Suns, and was plus-10 in 11 minutes.

During the 2025-26 regular season, the three guards played 25 minutes together and had a minus-26.9 net rating.

Oklahoma City re-signed center Isaiah Hartenstein to a three-year, $75 million deal this summer, replacing a $28.5 million team option. The Thunder also drafted Michigan center Aday Mara 12th overall. Mara is listed at 7-foot-3 and 262 pounds. His Michigan team beat Tarris Reed Jr. and UConn in the national championship game April 6.

Chet Holmgren is back for the Thunder as well.

Wembanyama averaged a career-high 11.5 rebounds last season. Reed, the Spurs' rookie center, had 17 rebounds at Utah on Oct. 12 and a team-high nine against Phoenix two nights later.

Harper is still sharpening his reads with the ball in his hands.

"Just making the right reads, biggest thing," Harper said. "Playing with Vic, you can kind of throw the ball anywhere and the lob is always open. Or the corner pass is always open, because they have to tag off Vic. And I feel like that's very evident. And just for me, just working on my reads and putting myself in situations where I have to make them quick decisions at that time and make the right one."

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won MVP for a second straight season. In Game 6 of the conference finals, a 118-91 Spurs win, he shot 6-for-18 and scored 15 points.

The teams met five times in the 2025-26 regular season, NBA Cup included. San Antonio held Oklahoma City to 109.2 points per 100 possessions across those games, according to NBA.com. On Dec. 13, 2025, Wembanyama came back from a 12-game absence and the Spurs beat the Thunder 111-109 in the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 that night.

Castle leaned on film constantly while defending in last spring's series.

"At the end of the day, it's basketball. We're not playing against robots," Castle said. "Having the mental side of it definitely helps, but I feel like it's just more a tendency thing, like what guys like to do when they get in a certain spot, whether they like to go right drives more, left drives more. But at the end of the day, they're going to play basketball. So just having that stuff kind of in the back of my mind, but still trying to do my best on that possession to get a [stop]."

Oklahoma City traded Luguentz Dort and Aaron Wiggins to the Atlanta Hawks and Isaiah Joe to the Detroit Pistons this offseason. The three trades returned second-round picks and moved the Thunder below the second apron.

The Thunder drafted Mara, Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz at No. 16, and Otega Oweh at No. 41. Oweh is out for the season with an Achilles injury. Oklahoma City went 1-4 in the preseason, closing with a 116-89 loss at Houston on Oct. 15.

San Antonio will play without Tobias Harris, who strained his left calf in training camp. The Spurs signed the 34-year-old forward to a two-year, $31 million contract in free agency. Rookie Jayden Quaintance is also out after surgery on his right knee in July.

Harrison Barnes, Julian Champagnie, and Keldon Johnson are the other forwards on the roster. Keldon Johnson won Sixth Man of the Year last season. Carter Bryant had 16 points and four 3-pointers in the Oct. 14 win over Phoenix.

The Spurs play again Friday, when they host the Houston Rockets at Moody Center in Austin at 8:30 p.m. CT. It is the first of three I-35 Series games in Austin this season.