Boston’s opening-day collapse in Detroit was the kind of reminder no one in San Antonio wanted to revisit, even indirectly. A 22-point lead disappeared after the Pistons ripped off a 23-0 run bridging the third and fourth quarters, and Detroit walked away with a 121-113 win in what became the biggest comeback on an opening day in decades.
Paul George poured in 38 points in his Celtics debut, but it still wasn’t enough. And for Spurs fans, the whole thing probably hit a little too close to home.
That’s because San Antonio already knows exactly how ugly a runaway lead can get when a game slips away. The Spurs felt like the better team for long stretches in the Finals, but the only thing that mattered was the final score.
Game 4 turned into a bitter lesson after San Antonio led by 29 points, and New York’s win came with no asterisk attached. In pro sports, especially in a title chase, there are no moral victories.
You win, or you sit with the loss.
That’s what made the Spurs’ 4-1 defeat so hard to swallow after such a magical run to that point. The pain lingered for the team and the fans, and the offseason didn’t exactly calm things down.
Even harmless fan posts could end up with a Knicks supporter dropping the kind of “Haha” that stings more because the loss already does the work for them. It would have been easier to deal with if the Spurs had simply been beaten straight up.
Getting outplayed is one thing. Getting punched in the gut after leading big is something else.
And that’s the warning here: the only standard that matters is playing all 48 minutes.
It doesn’t matter who the opponent is or how the game starts. If you don’t close, none of the early work counts. Detroit just delivered that lesson at 2:00 PM Central on a Tuesday.
Now San Antonio begins a new season with a new starting five, and Victor Wembanyama is stepping into the kind of year everyone expects him to have. The GM voting has already made that plain, with overwhelming support for him to win MVP and DPOY.
He’s flanked by lottery picks and first-rounders, so the roster’s talent is not the issue. The issue is finishing.
The Spurs are set to tip off against OKC in less than an hour, and there’s revenge in the air after San Antonio knocked the Thunder out in their own building. But with 82 games ahead, the bigger point is simpler than that.
Good habits have to start now. The first one should be this: play smart basketball from the opening tip to the closing buzzer.
A title in June depends on it.
In Other News...
Wembanyamas Opening Night Struggles Have Spurs Fans Debating One Thing
Victor Wembanyamas start to the 2026-27 season has already sparked plenty of conversation in San Antonio, and his first half against the Oklahoma City Thunder only added fuel to it. Through the opening two quarters, he had eight points without making a field goal, while the Spurs were forced to chase the game as the Thunder controlled the flow and carried an 80-70 lead midway through the third quarter.
For Spurs fans, the bigger issue has been less about one rough stretch than what it says about how the offense is functioning around him. The frustration has been obvious, with concern building over both Wembanyamas performance and the teams approach when the game starts to get away from them, and this matchup is already shaping up as an early test of how quickly San Antonio can settle in around its franchise center. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Showed Fight Against OKC But One Debate Just Got Louder
The Spurs had the kind of season opener that can leave a team feeling both encouraged and annoyed. They hung around with Oklahoma City through a game that featured multiple lead changes, physical stretches and a handful of defensive plays worth circling, even if the Thunder ultimately pulled away for a 116-104 win. The return of Jalen Williams gave Oklahoma City another layer, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jared McCain helped steady the visitors when the game tightened.
For San Antonio, the bigger takeaway may be less about the final margin and more about how sharply the matchup sharpened the conversation around Victor Wembanyama. His back-and-forth on the defensive end with Chet Holmgren produced the kind of moments that fuel a rivalry debate, and the altercation involving DeAaron Fox only added to the edge. The Spurs showed they can match intensity, but they also left with one familiar question getting louder after a night when the other side handled the biggest moments better. [Read more 🡒]
Wembanyama Sounds Off After Spurs Let Thunder Set The Tone
The Spurs opened the season with a loss to the Thunder, and Victor Wembanyama did not hide his frustration afterward. San Antonio fell 116-104 in a game that quickly tilted toward Oklahoma City, even as Wembanyama still found ways to make his presence felt with 13 rebounds and six blocks. His shot never came around, though, as he managed just 12 points on 1-of-13 shooting in a start that left plenty of room for the Spurs to clean up.
What stood out most from Wembanyamas postgame assessment was how plainly he pointed to the issues that let the Thunder set the tone. He cited defensive miscommunication and poor closeouts, the kind of lapses that can snowball early in a season when rotations are still being sorted out. For San Antonio, the loss was more than one rough night from its franchise center - it was a reminder that the details have to sharpen up fast if the Spurs want to avoid letting opponents dictate the pace from the opening tip. [Read more 🡒]