The Thunder are stepping into opening night with more than just the usual season-start buzz. ESPN’s latest preseason predictions have Oklahoma City sitting atop the Western Conference race, and the belief around the team is clear: this could be the start of another title push.
Tuesday’s opener against the San Antonio Spurs already carries plenty of weight. The two teams met in the Western Conference Finals last season, with the Thunder falling in seven games. Now they meet again to open the NBA season, and the matchup immediately puts Oklahoma City back under the spotlight.
That preseason confidence from ESPN only sharpens the focus. Out of 15 insiders surveyed, 10 picked the Thunder to win the West, send themselves to the NBA Finals and finish the job by capturing the championship. The other five went with San Antonio for the conference and the title, which means every vote on the board landed on a Western Conference team to win it all.
For Oklahoma City, the optimism makes sense given the talent at the top of the roster. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren are once again expected to carry major responsibility, and all three enter the year with a chance to reinforce their standing among the league’s best.
Even with several young players stepping into larger roles, the Thunder have the kind of profile that keeps them in the championship conversation. The bigger question is whether they can stay healthy enough to hold that edge from October through June.
That was the lesson of last season, when regular-season success wasn’t enough on its own. Oklahoma City knows the real test comes later, and this year’s challenge is to arrive there prepared. If the Thunder can manage the health piece, they look built to make a run at being the final team standing.
In Other News...
Spurs Thunder Tension Boils Over On Opening Night
Opening night got chippy in a hurry for Oklahoma City, with the second quarter turning into a full-tilt confrontation between the Thunder and Spurs. It started when De'Aaron Fox shoved Chet Holmgren to the floor, and what followed drew in multiple players, including Victor Wembanyama and several members of the Williams family on the Thunder side, as the officials worked to separate everyone and restore order.
The sequence left both teams waiting on the whistle before play could settle back in, and the officiating crew wound up sorting through a messy scene with a flagrant foul and a handful of technicals. For a Thunder team trying to set the tone early in the season, the dustup added another layer of edge to a matchup that was already carrying plenty of opening-night energy. [Read more 🡒]
Aday Mara Just Gave Thunder Fans A First Real Reason To Believe
Aday Mara did not need long to make an impression in his first Thunder action of the 2026 NBA season opener. The rookie center, taken No. 12 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft, fit right into a frontcourt rotation that already includes Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren, and he found a way to stand out in a game against San Antonio by making his presence felt around the basket.
Midway through the third quarter, with Oklahoma City already in control, Mara helped deliver one of the nights best sequences. He swatted Victor Wembanyama near the rim, then turned around and finished an alley-oop from Ajay Mitchell, a burst of rim protection and finishing touch that gave Thunder fans a real glimpse of why the organization is so intrigued by him. [Read more 🡒]
Chet Holmgren Sparks Early Thunder Spurs Tension On Opening Night
Opening night between the Thunder and Spurs took a sharp turn when Chet Holmgren found himself on the floor after a hard sequence involving DeAaron Fox, and both benches quickly emptied in response. What had been an early-season showcase between two teams with plenty of buzz became a chippy, physical scene in a hurry, with the officials moving in to calm things down before play could continue.
Once order was restored, the game resumed with San Antonio still chasing Oklahoma City in the second quarter. The incident added an edge to a matchup already rich with intrigue, especially with Victor Wembanyama on the floor and the Thunders young core right in the middle of the fray, a reminder that this rivalry may not need much time to boil over again. [Read more 🡒]