Spurs-Thunder injury report: Tobias Harris out, Chet Holmgren in and more to watch for

The injury reports for both the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder have been released ahead of their opening night battle at the Frost Bank Center. There were no surprises from either side.

Spurs injury report

Tobias Harris (Out)
Jayden Quaintance (Out)

Thunder injury report

Nikola Topic (Out)
Thomas Sorber (Out)
Otega Oweh (Out for the season)

Chet Holmgren missed the preseason due to a quad injury, so his status was uncertain, but it looks like he'll be suiting up and OKC will mostly be at full strength. These two powerhouses faced off in the Western Conference Finals, but a rivalry means having business that will never be settled. Tuesday night is the next chapter in a thrilling ongoing tale with fascinating storylines to follow.

None bigger than the Spurs' new starting lineup.

Spurs officially debut their new starting lineup

Preseason success against the Suns' backups and the Sacramento Kings is one thing, but taking a new experiment for a spin against Oklahoma City is another. The biggest concerns about San Antonio's guard-heavy lineup are whether they can shoot well enough to space the floor and avoid getting crushed on the glass. This opponent will stress those areas immediately.

Mitch Johnson plans to deploy De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Devin Vassell, and Victor Wembanyama as his opening unit. The Thunder will likely put Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason Wallace, Jalen Williams, Chet, and Isaiah Hartenstein on the floor.

The Fox-Castle-Harper group didn't do great last season, but the sample size was small, and the circumstances have changed. Actually having a full offseason and training camp to work together, developing chemistry for something unorthodox, is essential. They got that this year. Swipa's 2025 summer injury prevented it from happening before.

Size is OKC’s answer to a problem San Antonio created

After the offseason departures of Luguentz Dort, Isaiah Joe, and Aaron Wiggins, OKC will have a slightly different look, but not by much.

That's where Aday Mara comes in. The 7'3" 2026 12th overall pick out of Michigan had a strong preseason, and he'll likely play a huge role for the Thunder. Like the Spurs, Mark Daigneault's crew is deep and versatile enough to match personnel if necessary, but they seem to want to put a lot of size on the floor.

The kid was touted as the "Wemby stopper" as soon as he was selected. That's a moniker that sets Mara up to be slandered if Vic goes crazy while he's on the floor, but that's exactly what we expect to happen. Still, the Alien won't be out there alone, and neither will OKC's rookie.

We got seven games of this chess match a few months ago. It wasn't enough. It will never be enough. The battles are just too good, and if you're a fan of basketball, you're thrilled that we get the Spurs and Thunder on opening night.

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