At last. After months of waiting, the 2026-27 NBA season is finally here, and it’s hard to imagine a better opening dish. The Thunder and the Spurs meet in a rematch of last season’s Western Conference Finals, a game that will show who holds the upper hand and who must take on the role of chaser in a race to dominate a conference that, it seems, will once again be a two-horse affair. Will San Antonio still be the one calling the shots?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Date:<\/strong> 20 October 2026, early on the 21st according to European time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Time<\/strong>: These are the tip-off times for Thunder vs Spurs by time zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Venue<\/strong>: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though these are two well-established teams, it’s hard to predict how their starting fives will look at the start of this campaign. In OKC it is easier to imagine Cason Wallace starting at guard, while in San Antonio there is great interest in seeing how Mitch Johnson manages the emergence of Dylan Harper and the arrival of Tobias Harris. Even so, the coach may well stick with the five that worked so well last season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Opening night always makes it especially difficult to commit to a prediction, but in this case we will weigh home-court advantage and the desire for revenge as the deciding factors and give OKC the edge, albeit a slight one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thirst for revenge. That is what to expect from a Thunder side that, after being crowned champions in 2025 and starting the 25-26 season looking unstoppable, soon met their match in a San Antonio Spurs team that halted their imperial run by knocking them out of the NBA Cup, beat them three times in two weeks, and ended their season in an unforgettable Game 7. And today, in a new chapter but with the previous ones still fresh in mind, they must reverse the trend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To do so, they arrive with some new faces and familiar names who were not always available last year. On one hand, they have let franchise veterans such as Dort, Wiggins and Joe go, but on the other they regain all their players after a season in which Jalen Williams could barely take the court due to physical problems. And after a promising preseason from Mara and Stirtz, they may have found in the Draft the resources that the apron <\/em>forced them to let go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the desire for revenge is enormous across the Thunder, for Shai it must be greater than for anyone. The MVP of the last two regular seasons failed to look like one in his last head-to-head with the Spurs, as during those seven games the young legs of their perimeter defence were a torment for him and kept him from showing his best version. So tonight he has to prove that it was more circumstantial than a genuine problem for his compulsive scoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\nUK, Ireland and Portugal<\/td> 02:30<\/td><\/tr> Dominican Republic, USA (Boston, New York and Miami), Puerto Rico and Venezuela<\/td> 21:30<\/td><\/tr> Mexico (central), USA (Texas and Chicago), El Salvador, Costa Rica and Nicaragua<\/td> 20:30<\/td><\/tr> Mexico (Pacific) and USA (Los Angeles)<\/td> 18:30<\/td><\/tr> Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay<\/td> 22:30<\/td><\/tr> Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Panama<\/td> 20:30<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Spurs vs Thunder starting lineups<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Thunder<\/strong><\/td> Spurs<\/strong><\/td><\/tr> Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/td> De’Aaron Fox<\/td><\/tr> Cason Wallace<\/td> Stephon Castle<\/td><\/tr> Jalen Williams<\/td> Devin Vassell<\/td><\/tr> Chet Holmgren<\/td> Julian Champagnie<\/td><\/tr> Isaiah Hartenstein<\/td> Victor Wembanyama<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Thunder vs Spurs: best bet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Thunder latest: injuries and form<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Player to watch: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/h3>\n\n\n\n