Thunder Send Message to NBA in Dominant Win over Spurs on Opening Night

The Oklahoma City Thunder entered the 2026-27 NBA season with one of their toughest tests on the schedule, traveling to San Antonio for their only road matchup against the Spurs during the regular season. And it went about as well as Oklahoma City could've hoped for, as the Thunder earned a convincing 116-104 victory on opening night. Despite San Antonio making things interesting in the second half, this was a dominant performance from Oklahoma City for much of the night, making an early statement against the team that eliminated the Thunder in last season's Western Conference Finals.

As it relates to the MVP race, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander clearly got the better of Victor Wembanyama in this matchup. The reigning two-time MVP finished with 32 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Wembanyama scored just 12 points on 1-of-13 shooting from the floor. To be clear, Wembanyama was still incredibly impactful, particularly on the defensive end, where he recorded six blocks and consistently altered Oklahoma City's offensive approach. But from a scoring standpoint, Gilgeous-Alexander completely outplayed his fellow superstar.

Oklahoma City jumped out to a six-point lead after the opening quarter before taking complete control in the second, outscoring San Antonio 31-16 to take a commanding 65-44 advantage into halftime. The Spurs struggled to generate offense against Oklahoma City's defense, while the Thunder were firing on all cylinders offensively. San Antonio responded with a strong third quarter and continued its comeback attempt early in the fourth, eventually cutting the deficit to single digits. However, whenever the Spurs threatened to make it a close game, Gilgeous-Alexander seemingly had an answer, knocking down several important shots to keep Oklahoma City comfortably ahead.

Outside of Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder received meaningful contributions throughout the rotation, with 11 different players scoring in the first half alone. Jared McCain was particularly impressive off the bench, finishing with 20 points while knocking down six of his eight attempts from beyond the arc. Chet Holmgren also made a statement after struggling against San Antonio in last season's Western Conference Finals, finishing with 14 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. Holmgren was aggressive offensively, consistently attacking Wembanyama and getting to the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Jalen Williams struggled with his efficiency, shooting 5-of-16 from the floor, but still contributed 12 points and seven rebounds.

Ultimately, this was about as strong of an opening performance as the Thunder could've hoped for against a legitimate championship contender. Oklahoma City looked like the better team for the majority of the contest, and its combination of superstar talent, depth and defensive versatility was on full display. These teams will meet again in February and March, and potentially once again in the playoffs. But for now, the Thunder have made an early statement that they're still one of the teams to beat in the Western Conference.