The San Antonio Spurs are heading into the 2026-27 season with a scheduling edge that could matter down the stretch. After grinding through one of the league’s toughest slates last year - and playing more games than any other team thanks to a run to the NBA Finals and the NBA Cup Championship - San Antonio will have 94 rest days this season.
That matters for a team trying to get back to the Finals. Victor Wembanyama is not injury-prone, but he is also not among the NBA’s most durable players, and fatigue can become a real issue as the season drags on. Rest does not decide everything, but it can go a long way in keeping a team healthy and reliable.
Still, the Spurs’ biggest edge may have nothing to do with the calendar. In the Western Conference, the picture looks like a two-team race at the top. The Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves improved, and the Denver Nuggets remain a strong team, but San Antonio and the Oklahoma City Thunder stand above the rest.
The difference, at least on paper, is that the Spurs kept their core intact while also adding depth. They did not lose a single key contributor this summer.
Instead, they brought in Tobias Harris, Tarris Reed, and Jayden Quiantance, with all three expected to help the frontcourt. They’re physical players, the kind who should be able to hold up over the course of a full season, even with Quiantance’s injury concerns.
Oklahoma City, by contrast, took some hits. The Thunder lost Aaron Wiggins, Lu Dort, and Isaiah Joe.
Those aren’t superstar departures, but each one matters because of the defense and floor spacing they provide. The Thunder did draft Aday Mara 12th overall out of Michigan, and Thomas Sorber is set to return, but those moves do not fully replace three proven NBA players.
Last season, San Antonio was the better team, if only by a narrow margin. This offseason, the Spurs inched forward while Oklahoma City took a small step back. And even with all the excitement around schedule release day - the Hawks had the best release video - the larger truth remains the same: every team still has to play 82 games, most of them against opponents with real playoff hopes.
Back-to-backs and travel quirks can help around the margins, but talent still drives everything. Right now, the Spurs have more of it than anyone in the league.
In Other News...
Spurs Backcourt Battle Could Shape Wembanyamas Next Step
The Spurs backcourt picture is starting to come into focus as the team heads toward next season, and the decision at point guard could say plenty about how San Antonio wants to accelerate Victor Wembanyamas growth. DeAaron Fox is still positioned as the starter, giving the Spurs a proven lead guard with a major role on the books, while Dylan Harper arrives as the kind of young talent that naturally tempts fans to imagine a faster handoff.
Fox also spent the summer building chemistry with Wembanyama, a development that matters for a team trying to make the game easier for its franchise centerpiece. Harper remains an intriguing part of the long-term plan, but the expectation is that he will begin his Spurs run in a reserve role for at least another season, leaving the staff to balance present-day stability with the appeal of another high-upside creator waiting in the wings. [Read more 🡒]
Stephon Castle Faces The Spurs Challenge Russell Westbrook Never Solved
Russell Westbrooks retirement closes the book on one of the most explosive careers the league has ever seen, and it also offers a useful measuring stick for the Spurs own young guard room. Stephon Castle is being mentioned in the same breath for good reason: the forceful, downhill style, the willingness to attack the rim, and the kind of all-around pressure that can bend a defense without waiting for a clean look from deep.
Where Castle can separate himself is in the part of the game Westbrook never fully conquered, especially in the postseason. His early shooting gains have been encouraging, and if that progress continues, the Spurs could end up with a player who brings Westbrook-like juice while adding the one layer that made those great runs so hard to sustain. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Get An Early Test Of How Real This Rise Is
The Spurs are about to find out plenty about themselves before the calendar even turns to November. Their early slate is packed with difficult opponents and relentless travel demands, including 13 back-to-backs and a stretch of four games in six nights before Oct. 31, giving San Antonio very little room to ease into the season. For a team trying to prove its rise is for real, the opening month looks less like a warmup and more like an examination.
Victor Wembanyama enters that grind with a clear individual goal: raise his offensive production and strengthen his case as an MVP-level force after last seasons experience. The good news for San Antonio is that the schedule should offer an immediate measuring stick against some of the Wests stronger teams, the kind of early test that can either accelerate belief or expose how much work still remains. [Read more 🡒]