The Spurs unveiled their much-anticipated three-guard lineup in Tuesday’s season opener.
Oklahoma City, meanwhile, had Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Advantage: Thunder.
Proving, at least on this night, that one guard can be better than three, the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player threw in 32 points to lead the Thunder to a 116-104 victory at the Frost Bank Center.
It served as a bit of revenge for Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder, who lost 8 of 12 meetings against the Spurs last season, including four in a seven-game Western Conference final series.
Victor Wembanyama on if the Thunder were trying to set a new tone in the series said that they were both the same teams but the Spurs made more mistakes tonight https://t.co/WtY5iNi05j
– Spurs Nation (@Spurs_Nation) October 21, 2026
Oklahoma City led by as many as 26 points in the first half before the Spurs made a game of it after intermission, closing as near as seven points in the fourth quarter.
“In this league, a team of this caliber, if you start chasing your tail like that, they’ll make you pay,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said.
Victor Wembanyama struggled through an atrocious shooting night, going 1 of 13 from the field. Credit Thunder big man Chet Holmgren, who struggled throughout conference finals but defended Wembanyama well Tuesday.
The Spurs got something from each of their star guards, with Stephon Castle leading the way with 24 points, Dylan Harper chipping in 18 and De’Aaron Fox adding 14 to go with seven assists.
It wasn’t enough to overcome a Gileous-Alexander on a mission.
“I think everyone struggled equally,” Johnson said. “We all participated in that one.”
The Spurs, who dropped to 0-1 for the third time in Wembanyama’s four NBA seasons, move on to face Houston on Friday at the Moody Center in Austin.
Here are three takeaways from Tuesday’s season-opening defeat:
1. SGA wins MVP showdown
Wembanyama’s Defensive Player of the Year campaign got off to a rip-roaring start, with six blocks and 13 rebounds.
His MVP candidacy? Not so much.
Wembanyama’s shooting night was his worst as a pro. He started off missing his first 11 shots, an ignominious career high.
Afterward, Wembanyama said he could feel himself overthinking against Oklahoma City’s defense.
“What I have to do is really let go,” Wembanyama said. “I don’t need to do more. I need to think less.”
Wembanyama salvaged some offensive production by making 10 free throws, a testament to Oklahoma City’s willingness to pummel him whenever he ventured near the rim.
Gilgeous-Alexander, meanwhile, landed an early punch in his bid for a third consecutive MVP award. The Thunder guard extended his NBA-record streak of 20-point games to 128 while blowing past the 30-point mark with a steady diet of tough, timely buckets.
It’s one game out of 82, with plenty of time for both stars to build their respective cases. But after Tuesday, the early edge belongs to Gilgeous-Alexander.
Victor Wembanyama on his tough shooting night against the Thunder: “I need to go back to playing the basketball I like.” He added that he didn’t feel like himself on the offensive side of the ball https://t.co/slykWQxKY8
– Spurs Nation (@Spurs_Nation) October 21, 2026
2. Spurs didn’t help themselves on defense
For all that went wrong, the Spurs did plenty right in the opener.
They won the fast-break battle 31-12, outscored Oklahoma City 48-42 in the paint and nearly matched the Thunder in second-chance points, losing that battle by a relatively modest 19-15 margin.
The most glaring difference came from beyond the arc. Oklahoma City connected on 14 of 31 3-point attempts. The Spurs made just 10 of 37.
Oklahoma City reserve guard Jared McCain did the most damage from long range, burying six of eight 3-pointers on his way to 20 points off the bench.
Sure, the NBA can be a make-or-miss league but the Spurs didn’t do enough to make the Thunder miss Tuesday. There is much they can clean up on the defensive end of the court.
3. No love lost between these rivals
Spurs forward Julian Champagnie stopped short of saying the two teams hate each other, despite a season’s worth of bad blood.
“I don’t want to say hate,” Champagnie said. “I don’t want make it seem like it’s more than what it is. When you’ve got two teams, we’re all competitive, we’re on the same side of the conference … that naturally is going to bring that competitiveness out. We want that. And they do, too.”
If there was any doubt about the rising temperature of this budding rivalry, things boiled over with 9:21 remaining in the second quarter.
Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox tangled with Holmgren, pulling him to the ground in the paint. Fox was whistled for a flagrant foul.
The scrum that followed produced a parade of technical fouls – one on Wembanyama and one on each Thunder player with the last name Williams: Jalen, Jaylin and Kenrich.
Fox downplayed the incident afterward.
“I just tried to take a foul,” Fox said. “I don’t think I’m that strong.”
Maybe so. But the physicality between these Western Conference powers isn’t going anywhere.
“I think that’ll be there pretty much every time we see them for the most part,” Castle said.
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This article originally published at 3 takeaways as Thunder draw first blood of a new season vs. Spurs.
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