3 Way-too-early keys to the game for the Spurs on 2026-27 opening night

The Spurs were deservedly chosen to be one of the teams kicking off the 2026-27 NBA season on opening night. The stage is set for a grudge match between San Antonio and the Oklahoma City Thunder, a rematch of the Western Conference Finals. That’s sure to be the perfect nightcap for every basketball fan’s favorite unofficial holiday.

The anticipation for this game will be bothering Spurs faithful like an unscratchable itch for the next 2+ months. To tide you over a bit until then, let’s break down three things San Antonio will need to focus on to come away with a win against OKC and start their year off undefeated.

Key #1: Let Dylan Harper cook off the bench

The Thunder underwent a makeover this offseason. This isn’t the same team San Antonio took down in the WCF, and that’s not a compliment. OKC was forced to sacrifice important role players at the mercy of the looming second apron.

Luguentz Dort, Isaiah Joe, and Aaron Wiggins are all gone from the Thunder lineup. Their replacements will be unproven young guys, most likely Nikola Topic, Aday Mara, and Bennett Stirtz.

OKC’s core pieces are, of course, quite formidable, but they’re a thinner team overall than they were last season. Their bench could end up being a weakness. Dylan Harper will be San Antonio’s key to exposing that flaw.

Harper will be stepping into the year as arguably the uncontested best bench player in the association. He’s way overqualified for the sixth man job, especially if you factor in expected second-year growth. That said, he should be able to dominate against any reserve unit, but especially a feeble one like Oklahoma City’s.

Key #2: Attack the rim when Chet Holmgren is at the five

This one sounds kind of crazy at face value. After all, Holmgren is known as one of basketball’s elite paint defenders. But, for now, at least, he’s more of a liability than people realize as a primary rim protector, and that’s something the Spurs have shown they can unmask.

Holmgren is really skinny, and he’s prone to getting plowed out of the way by drivers who go straight into his chest. Not only has Victor Wembanyama given him the business at the hoop before, but smaller guys like Stephon Castle and Julian Champagnie have also had success finishing through the frailer Holmgren.

There’s a reason why Holmgren shares the floor with Isaiah Hartenstein often and why OKC used Hartenstein more than Holmgren to cover Wemby during the Western Conference Finals. They know Holmgren can be barbecue chicken at times when he’s running the five.

So, if the Thunder leave Holmgren as the sole big on the court at any point on opening night, that should be San Antonio’s cue to start hunting paint points. Make Chet prove he can hold it down.

Key #3: Don’t send doubles at Shai Gilgeous-Alexander unless necessary

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sees a lot of blitzes from defenses that are terrified of his scoring. The Spurs should know that they don’t need to send extra help at the two-time MVP on every possession to beat the Thunder.

In the Western Conference Finals, San Antonio often left Stephon Castle to defend Shai one-on-one and essentially dared Shai to beat them on his own. Needless to say, the Spurs emerged victorious there. 

Castle is the type of defender who can handle a superstar alone, and if he does get beat, he has the best defender in the world behind him to help. There’s no point in conceding easy looks to other OKC players in favor of doubling Shai if Castle doesn’t need the double to stay in front of him. San Antonio can afford to be reactive, not proactive, with the help in this case.

All in all, this is going to be a phenomenal contest between two juggernauts. October 20th can’t come soon enough. 

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow