The Thunder have earned the benefit of the doubt, even with some churn around the edges.
Oklahoma City is heading into a season where it has to replace three veteran contributors in Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins, and Isaiah Joe. That’s no small thing, especially with the second-apron roster crunch hanging over the team. Still, the Thunder have young talent and enough depth to soften that blow, and there’s a real argument that Ajay Mitchell, Cason Wallace, and Jared McCain could give them even more than that group in 2026-27.
There’s also the matter of what Oklahoma City already showed against San Antonio. The Thunder pushed the reigning Western Conference champion Spurs to seven games despite not having two of their main on-ball weapons in Mitchell and Jalen Williams for much of the run. If those pieces had been fully available, that series might have looked very different.
So this isn’t about digging up old results. It’s about the simple reality that Oklahoma City is not going away.
That’s why the Spurs loom as such an interesting threat. A lot of teams in the West - the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers among them - would need everything to break just right to seriously challenge the Thunder.
San Antonio’s path is more direct. For the Spurs, it may all hinge on one thing: Dylan Harper taking another step and becoming a legitimate secondary scorer.
Victor Wembanyama remains the center of everything in San Antonio. He’s the main problem Oklahoma City has to solve, and he enters Year 4 as almost inarguably the league’s best defensive player. Offensively, he had some playoff stretches where he struggled to get traction, but his size and pure athletic ability make him impossible to ignore.
Stephon Castle also gave the Spurs real production last season, putting up 16.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 7.4 assists while shooting 47.1% from the field in the regular season.
But in the playoffs, Harper was the guy who really operated as San Antonio’s second option. He shot 28% from three in the NBA Finals, but still averaged 18 points, 6.4 rebounds, and three assists while handling the ball in the biggest moments of the seven-game series. Long term, he looks more like a true offensive centerpiece than Castle, and that’s the lane the Spurs need to push him into in 2026-27.
That’s where San Antonio came up short last season. The defense was strong, but the offense often broke down when the game tightened. Another jump from Harper - especially with some of the sub-par play and decision-making the Spurs have gotten from De'Aaron Fox - could help fix that.
And that’s what should make Oklahoma City pay attention.
Wembanyama is already a nightmare matchup. Add a wing or guard who can consistently get downhill and knock down perimeter shots, and the whole equation changes.
That doesn’t mean Harper’s growth would suddenly make the Spurs the favorite over the Thunder. But among all the possible developments in the West next season, this is the one that could matter most to Oklahoma City’s championship path.
In Other News...
Kevin Durant Just Reopened A Raw Thunder Fan Wound
Kevin Durants relationship with Oklahoma City fans has never really cooled, and a new viral screenshot has only stirred that back up again. The image appears to show a profanity-laced exchange between Durant and a Thunder fan, a reminder of how even years after his 2016 departure, his name still lands with extra weight in Oklahoma City.
The post has ricocheted across social media and drawn plenty of reaction from NBA fans, even as the authenticity of the screenshot remains unclear. Durant has long been one of the leagues most active and combustible voices online, and any interaction that seems to involve him and Thunder supporters tends to reopen an old wound that never quite healed. [Read more 🡒]
Thunders Latest Big-Man Move Wont Ease A Real Frontcourt Concern
The Thunder added another big body earlier this week by signing rookie Christoph Tilly to an Exhibit-10 contract, a low-risk move that fits the teams habit of churning the back end of the roster for size and upside. On paper, it gives Oklahoma City another seven-footer to evaluate, and it comes at a time when the club is still trying to sort out how best to support Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein in the frontcourt.
Even with those two in place, rebounding has been a recurring issue, especially on the interior, where the Thunder have not consistently turned their length into clean possessions. The guards, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, have helped pick up the slack on the glass, but that is not really a sustainable answer if Oklahoma City wants its front line to hold up over the long haul. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Suddenly Have A Real Isaiah Hartenstein Dilemma
The Thunders center rotation has taken on a different kind of urgency as the franchise keeps an eye on salary-cap math and the second apron. Isaiah Hartenstein has been a key defensive piece for Oklahoma City, but his contract also sits right in the middle of the financial pressure the team is trying to manage, especially after already making moves to get under the second apron.
What makes the situation tricky is the larger organizational picture, with young bigs Aday Mara and Thomas Sorber part of the equation as the Thunder weigh what comes next. Oklahoma City does not appear eager to disrupt a roster built around defensive versatility, but further moves may be unavoidable depending on how the front office sees the long-term fit and whether it can keep its current core intact while staying on the right side of the cap. [Read more 🡒]