NBA schedule release leaves more to be desired in Spurs vs Thunder rivalry

The NBA released the full schedule for the 2026-2027 season, and there's already one major disappointment. The Spurs are set to play the Thunder just three times, with two of those matchups taking place in Oklahoma City.

This doesn't do the league's hottest rivalry much justice. These teams pushed each other to the limit in the playoffs, making for the first seven-game Western Conference Finals series since 2018. They also had some fun regular-season battles, including a tight face-off in the NBA Cup semifinals.

If both teams stay healthy and keep their cores intact, this could be the staple Western Conference matchup for the next few years. But NBA fans deserve a larger dose of this rivalry next season.

We need to see more battles between SGA and Victor Wembanyama

The NBA's oddest player-to-player rivalry is between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama. One is a 6'6" guard who's racking up scoring titles, and the other is a 7'3" demigod who dominates the interior. They affect the game in completely different ways, but you can still feel the tension in their matchups.

Think about the Western Conference Finals when Victor Wembanyama sat on the bench, watching SGA hold the trophy up in front of the Thunder's home crowd. He responded with a dominant performance in that series, outplaying Shai on both ends while leading the Spurs to the Finals. It was the perfect, competitive dynamic that will help define the league in the post-LeBron era.

Those head-to-head battles between MVP candidates are so important for discourse amongst fans and pundits, and just three Victor/Shai regular-season duels don't seem right for a rivalry of this magnitude.

The Spurs can still make a huge statement

Even though the number of meetups between these two teams is underwhelming, the Spurs still have a chance to make another big statement against the Thunder. If San Antonio can win the season series despite OKC having home-court advantage in two out of the three scheduled games, it'll be impossible for anyone to question who the best team in the Western Conference is.

Since the 2023-24 season, the Thunder have a 102-33 home record, which is the best mark in the NBA. This is an impressive feat, but the Spurs have a good chance to be the only team to have OKC's number on their home turf. Furthermore, this would destroy any notion that San Antonio's success against this team last season was through luck.

So the NBA didn't give the fans what they wanted to see by scheduling a few extra games between these groups. But there are a few bright sides. For one, they could meet up in the NBA Cup, as they did last season. Secondly, the Spurs do have a chance to make another massive statement against their biggest rival by winning the series despite the lack of home-court advantage.

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