The Oklahoma City Thunder may have found San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama’s kryptonite: 7-foot-3 rookie Aday Mara.

The Thunder drafted Mara, 21, from Zaragoza, Spain, out of Michigan, 12th overall in the 2026 NBA Draft. The 2025 NBA Champions drafted Mara to duel star centers like Wembanyama despite having three centers, including All-Star Chet Holmgren and veterans Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams.

The Spurs, who boast a young and exciting roster spearheaded by Frenchman Wembanyama, are considered the biggest threat in the Western Conference, having reached the NBA Finals, losing to the New York Knicks, after beating the Thunder in the Conference Finals last season.

And so, the Thunder, looking to return to dominating the West, sought out a new Big Man of their own, and landed on the lofty Spaniard Mara earlier this year. OKC spent its 12th overall pick on Mara, who had a good collegiate career at UCLA and the Wolverines.

Mara made his Thunder debut on Tuesday against the Spurs and was thrown in at the deep end immediately against Wemby. Mara finished with seven points, two rebounds, and a block in 12 minutes, making his presence felt in the third quarter by denying Wembanyama before converting at the opposite end.

His debut left a big impression as the Thunder got the 2026/27 season off to a 116-104 win against one of their biggest conference rivals. “He was awesome,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “Great poise, great impact.

“He had probably one of the stretches of the game — it’s a critical thing there when he blocked the shot and went down and finished the other end. He didn’t seem overwhelmed by the atmosphere of the game.

“I’m not really surprised by how he’s performed in preseason. I think he’s proven to be a very impactful player.

“His minutes weren’t high tonight but his impact was. Clearly, somebody we trust put him in that game, and we’re only going to trust him more after seeing how he performed in a high-level game.”

Mara received the game ball afterward, underscoring how his teammates rated his performance. “I’m happy it’s official now,” he told CARTV. “I felt good playing, and I felt like I helped the team, so I’m happy.”

Mara played his part in limiting Wembanyama to just 13 points on 1 of 12 shooting - an uncharacteristically poor evening for the Spurs superstar.

“There’s always a variance to it,” Daigneault said of slowing down Wembanyama. “I thought he missed shots that he can normally make from the floor.

“I thought Chet did a great job on him. I thought Mara did a great job on him the possessions he had tonight.

"I thought we collectively had the right amount of response to him.”