Victor Wembanyama doesn’t sound like a player easing into a fresh season. He sounds like someone who understands exactly how much has shifted around the Spurs.
San Antonio opens the 2026-27 regular season Tuesday night at Frost Bank Center against Oklahoma City, the same Thunder team the Spurs knocked out in seven games in the Western Conference Finals in May. For Wembanyama, that rematch carries meaning, but not the kind that gets him lost in the calendar.
Last season stretched all the way into June for the Spurs, who reached the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014 before the New York Knicks beat them in five games and closed the series June 13 at Frost Bank Center. Since then, Wembanyama said the group has had time to settle down, train and build back toward the start of another run.
“It’s not the main thing I think about, but yeah, of course I love it,” Wembanyama said. “What I love the most is the quality of the opponent.
That’s what we strive for. It’s when you start playing very good people, it means you made it to a very good place.
So this is what I care about.”
The Thunder arrive with plenty of their own weight. They went 64-18 last season, finished with the league’s best record for a second straight year and then watched Shai Gilgeous-Alexander win MVP for the championship team that took the 2025 title. San Antonio was right there too, finishing 62-20 and going the distance with Oklahoma City after taking Game 1 in Oklahoma City.
The Spurs ultimately finished the series in style on May 30, when they won Game 7 at Paycom Center, 111-103. Wembanyama put up 22 points in that game and earned Western Conference Finals MVP.
Even with all that behind them, Wembanyama doesn’t see Tuesday as some brand-new emotional category. He said the intensity remains the same, even if the Spurs’ place in the league has changed.
“I wouldn’t say so, because with OKC, we’re still fighting for the same vicinity of the same spot,” Wembanyama said. “So, still the same intensity.
But, yeah, a few years ago when we were - up until last year, the previous year, we had been a lottery team. So our status is different now.
This is what changed, for sure.”
That status change fits the way Wembanyama has been playing, too. The team says he averaged career highs of 25.0 points and 11.5 rebounds last season, and he led the NBA with 3.08 blocks per game. On April 20, he became the first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year in award history.
He also finished third in MVP voting behind Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokić. Gilgeous-Alexander received 939 points and 83 first-place votes, Jokić got 634 points and 10 first-place votes, and Wembanyama finished with 569 points.
When asked about that race, he didn’t sound bothered by where he landed.
“No, it wasn’t really a surprise,” Wembanyama said. “I think it was tight, and everyone could have - I think everyone could have pleaded for their own cause at this level of the ranking, but Jokić and Shai each had more arguments than me.”
Wembanyama also talked about the voluntary workouts he hosted in early August in Nanterre, the Paris suburb where he grew up. The Spurs posted video of the sessions Aug. 4, and the group included De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Harrison Barnes, Tobias Harris, Carter Bryant and Jordan McLaughlin.
For Wembanyama, the setting carried its own strange pull. He said the gym was where he played at 15, and the experience of being back there with teammates from his NBA life made the whole thing feel unreal.
“I would say because it’s two of my worlds meeting in one place, in one moment,” Wembanyama said. “Because I’m in the exact same location where I’ve spent so much time - I’ve probably spent more time in that gym than I have here - but I’m in the exact same gym where I was when I was 15, and with these guys that I met when I was 19.”
“A place where I lived intense emotions, with people whom I lived intense emotions with as well. These two things meeting, it’s surreal at times. It’s a great experience,” Wembanyama added.
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 🡒]