The San Antonio Spurs plan to start three guards in Tuesday’s season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder, with Dylan Harper joining De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle in a first unit rounded out by Devin Vassell and Victor Wembanyama.

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson announced the plan Friday, and the reaction was quickly divided. Some focused on Julian Champagnie’s absence from the group and on whether it can space the floor, while others backed the coach’s call.

Mitch Johnson Starting Dylan Harper, De’Aaron Fox With Julian Champagnie Snub Sparks Debate

Underdog NBA relayed Johnson’s regular season plan shortly before the Spurs’ preseason finale: “Spurs plan to start Dylan Harper alongside Fox, Castle, Vassell, Wembanyama in season opener on Tuesday.”

The group had already started Wednesday’s 123-103 preseason win over the Phoenix Suns. We’re planning on starting that same crew,” Johnson said Friday. ESPN reported that Johnson wants to start his five best players rather than bring one off the bench.

The five started Friday night again in a 126-97 win over the Sacramento Kings, with Harper recording 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-6 from deep, in 21 minutes.

Champagnie came off the bench and went 3-of-10 from three in 17 minutes.

A section of Spurs’ fanbase responded to Johnson’s plans by rallying around Champagnie, and one fan was blunt: “Benching Champagnie is a grave grave mistake. I cannot stress this enough.”

Another account didn’t name a player but went straight at San Antonio’s head coach, complaining that a player can “start every game on the path to a finals run and gets benched the next year for some 3 guard lineup [expletive].”

The bigger worry was shooting, and the numbers give it some weight: Fox, Castle and Harper played just 69 minutes together last season, including 25 in the NBA Finals, and opponents outscored the Spurs by 47 points in those minutes.

One fan summed up the concern by counting what surrounds Wembanyama: “3 slashing guards, 1 shooter, and Wemby we’re gonna get fried bruh.”

One user argued that Champagnie is the team’s best shooter and that Fox, Harper, and Castle are not shooters.

Fox pointed to the same pressure point. “So, a lot of our season, a lot of how special that first group can be, it’s going to be predicated on how we shoot the ball,” he said.

Some fans turned the worry into a joke, with a Los Angeles Lakers fan account predicting “Luka (Dončić) scoring 1000 points.”

The first test is no small one, because Tuesday is a rematch of the 2026 Western Conference Finals, and one Hoops fan is already wondering how Oklahoma City would handle the matchups: “If Chet’s playing, do you put him on Castle?”

While there is no clarity on whether this three-guard look will last once Tobias Harris returns from his calf strain, Johnson’s ambitious decision has definitely raised the stakes ahead of the team’s season opener against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Oklahoma team.