The Spurs’ first month should tell a lot about where this team really stands.
San Antonio opens into a brutal stretch with marquee games against the Thunder, Rockets, Timberwolves and Pistons, and that kind of schedule leaves little room to ease into the season. But it also gives the Spurs exactly what they need: a chance to prove their late-game growth is real.
That matters because, during the regular season, San Antonio was one of the NBA’s strongest clutch teams. The Spurs finished fourth in clutch offensive rating at 122.6 points per 100 possessions, which is a serious number for a team this young. The problem came later, when that same clutch confidence didn’t hold up in the NBA Finals against the Knicks.
There’s still a gap between being good in those moments and being dependable in them, and the early schedule should expose it quickly. San Antonio is set to see the Thunder, Pistons, Timberwolves, Rockets, Trail Blazers and Warriors over that opening month, and none of those teams figures to be interested in serving up easy wins. Each has its own reason to come out strong in the 2026-27 campaign.
Oklahoma City returns healthy with Jalen Williams alongside SGA. Detroit should bring a defense-first edge with Cade Cunningham driving the scoring.
Minnesota’s backcourt now features Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball. And the Rockets, Trail Blazers and Warriors are coming off quiet 2026 playoffs but will arrive with healthier, reworked rosters.
So this won’t be a soft landing for San Antonio. The Spurs should expect tight games, and they’ll need to be sharp when possessions shrink and the fourth quarter turns into a grind.
That puts the pressure squarely on the core. Victor Wembanyama was brilliant in his first NBA Playoff run, but he never found a rhythm in the clutch during the Finals. De’Aaron Fox also had his issues, and Game 4 remains one of the roughest memories Spurs fans have had in recent years.
Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper showed flashes, but both still have room to improve in those closing minutes. That leaves San Antonio’s four best players carrying the burden of whether this team looks polished when the game is on the line.
For the Spurs, the first month is more than just a tough opening slate. It’s a test of whether their late-game edge from the regular season can survive the biggest moments.
In Other News...
Wolves G League Trade Could Be Setting Up Another Guard Move
A multi-team G League deal this week sent the Stockton Kings the returning player rights to Tristen Newton and Teddy Allen, a move that also involved the Delaware Blue Coats and Iowa Wolves. On its face, it is the kind of transaction that lives deep in the leagues transaction wire, but these smaller-player rights swaps often hint at broader roster churn ahead as organizations keep their options open around the edges of the NBA season.
For the Spurs, the bigger picture still comes back to the same place: Victor Wembanyama is back in the frame after his time away with the French national team, and the organization is entering a stretch where every guard and every depth move matters. San Antonio also just announced a direct-to-consumer media partnership with DAZN, giving the club another way to stay connected with fans as the on-court roster conversation keeps evolving. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Fans Will Have Strong Feelings About Kawhis New Fallout
The NBA handed down a major punishment to the Clippers on Wednesday, stripping the franchise of five first-round draft picks, suspending owner Steve Ballmer for a year and fining him $30 million in a case tied to Kawhi Leonard. For Spurs fans who remember Leonards rise in San Antonio before everything that followed, the latest fallout is another reminder that his path through the league has rarely come without drama, and this one now reaches into the draft future.
Leonard was also fined $700,000 as part of the leagues action, adding another layer to a situation that already has the Clippers dealing with the loss of valuable assets. The penalties leave plenty of questions hanging over what comes next for Los Angeles and Leonard, with his future expected to take another turn toward the Raptors as the leagues discipline continues to reshape the story. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Rookie Could Force A Tough Change Behind Victor Wembanyama
Tarris Reed Jr. arrives in San Antonio with the kind of frame and raw promise that tends to make a frontcourt job a little less settled than it looked on paper. The rookie center is expected to push for minutes behind Victor Wembanyama, and for a Spurs team trying to build real depth up front, that sort of internal pressure can be a good problem to have.
Luke Kornet enters the mix as the established veteran, but Reeds physical tools give the Spurs another option if they want more size and impact around the rim on either end. How much that changes the rotation is still to be determined, but the battle for the backup center spot already looks like one of the more interesting roster fights in camp. [Read more 🡒]