FanDuel’s 2027 NBA title board changed fast after a scary Sunday night in Oklahoma City, with the Spurs jumping to the top spot once Jalen Williams went down with a lower left leg injury.
By Monday morning, San Antonio sat alone as the sportsbook’s favorite at +300, just ahead of the Thunder at +340. The Philadelphia 76ers were next at +950, followed by the New York Knicks at +1000, then the Boston Celtics at +1200 and the Toronto Raptors at +1500.
Williams exited on a stretcher at Paycom Center with 1:14 remaining in Oklahoma City’s 108-101 win over the LA Clippers. The play came after he was fouled on a drive late in the game, and the stoppage lasted about five minutes. At the time, he had 8 points and 5 assists while shooting 3-of-8.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said the team would be briefed on Williams’ condition Monday morning. There was no diagnosis Sunday night.
San Antonio’s rise on the odds board comes with the kind of momentum that has been building around Victor Wembanyama’s team. The Spurs spent each of Wembanyama’s first two seasons in the lottery, then broke through last season with a 62-20 record and their first Finals trip since 2014.
Wembanyama said the day before the opener, “We got higher expectations for sure for the regular season, but it’s easy to say a goal for the whole season,” Wembanyama said the day before the opener. “What’s more interesting is shorter-term goals, because even last year I said the sixth seed back in September or October. But after 50 games, if we were in that top two or top three, obviously the goal is not [the sixth seed].”
“So goals are bound to change over time,” Wembanyama continued. “We’re bound to reach them and exceed them.”
The Spurs have already seen Oklahoma City this season, and that meeting went the Thunder’s way in a 116-104 opener at Frost Bank Center on Oct. 20.
Wembanyama struggled in that game, going 1-of-13 from the field, with 10 of his 12 points coming at the line. He added 13 rebounds and 6 blocks.
Afterward, he was blunt about the way he played.
“I need to go back to playing the basketball I like,” Wembanyama explained after that game. “I don’t like it.
This is not the sport I like right here, so I got no reason to be hesitant, no reason to not be myself. For me, it’s as simple as that.
I’m good when I have fun.”
“At some points, yeah, I missed lots of shots, which I usually don’t miss, but after that, I didn’t go back to these shots,” Wembanyama added. “I wasn’t decisive.”
San Antonio has since split its next two games. The Rockets beat the Spurs 114-110 in San Antonio three nights after the loss to Oklahoma City, but Saturday brought a 122-106 win in Dallas. Dylan Harper scored 22, Wembanyama finished with 23 points and 4 blocks, and De’Aaron Fox dished out 9 assists.
That puts the Spurs at 1-2, while the Thunder remain unbeaten at 3-0. Oklahoma City’s start also includes Thursday’s 96-84 home win over the Denver Nuggets.
The two teams’ recent postseason history only adds more weight to the conversation around both clubs. San Antonio beat Oklahoma City in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center, 111-103, on May 30, with Wembanyama earning series MVP honors. Oklahoma City then had to deal with Williams’ health again in the Finals, where he came back for Game 1 and aggravated his left hamstring in Game 2 before New York finished the job in five games on June 13 at Frost Bank Center.
Williams played 33 regular-season games last season. In 2024-25, he averaged 21.6 points, made the All-Star team and earned All-NBA third team honors as the Thunder went on to beat the Indiana Pacers in seven games for the title in June.
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