The Thunder have had all summer to think about the team that sent them home. On Tuesday, they’ll finally get another shot.

Oklahoma City opens the season in San Antonio at 9:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, closing out opening night’s tripleheader with a matchup that comes with plenty of built-in drama: the NBA’s 2025 champion visiting the team that beat them in Game 7 of the 2026 Western Conference Finals. You really don’t need to add much to that.

Now Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama are back in the same building, and both have plenty of reason to still be thinking about how June ended.

The Matchup Inside the Matchup

Shai won his second straight MVP after averaging 31.1 points on 55.3% shooting, and he’s maybe the best in the league at making defenders choose between two bad options. He’ll wait for them to lean the wrong way, then get by before they can recover. Wembanyama is about as tough a complication as you can throw at that routine. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year averaged 25 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks last season. And even when he isn’t directly guarding Shai, he can still make a drive look very different.

That’s the game within the game here. Can Oklahoma City pull Wembanyama away from the rim, make him mov,e and find a reliable second option when San Antonio loads up on Shai? Chet Holmgren is a huge part of that. He gives the Thunder another big who can make Wembanyama work, but he averaged just 10.7 points in the West finals and scored four in Game 7.

After missing the preseason with a quad issue, he’ll have a chance to start changing that conversation right away.

OKC also has Jalen Williams back after injuries limited him throughout last season and most of that series. The Thunder need his ability to create when the first action breaks down. The supporting cast looks different, too. Lu Dort, Isaiah Joe, and Aaron Wiggins are all gone, which means bigger roles for Cason Wallace and Ajay Mitchell. That’s a real test for a team whose bench had been the league’s best for two straight seasons.

Same Players, Different Roles

San Antonio has a new question to answer. De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper give the Spurs three guards who can push the pace and get the offense moving. They played just 73 total minutes together last season, so opening night should tell us more about how naturally they fit than the preseason ever could. Their speed can put OKC’s defense on their heels, but loose passes could also give the Thunder the transition chances they love.

And if this game is close late, the Spurs have something to prove beyond beating the Thunder again. They led all five Finals games by at least 12 points and won only one of them. Shai, on the other hand, led the league with 175 clutch points. A San Antonio lead with five minutes left might not feel nearly as safe as it looks on the scoreboard.

So who wins? I’ll take the Spurs. Wembanyama’s presence around the rim and San Antonio’s extra ballhandlers give them enough ways to handle OKC’s pressure at home. And those offseason changes for the Thunder aren't going to be easy to get used to. I just don't see it clicking on the first night.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com.

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