What a difference a summer — and getting healthy — makes. Oklahoma City believes that if it had been healthy in the Western Conference Finals — specifically Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell — it would have had a chance to return to the NBA Finals and defend its title. Instead, they fell in 7 to the Spurs.

Game 1 of the 2026-27 season made the Thunder’s point.

Behind an elite defense and 32 points from reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder comfortably beat the Spurs 116-104 in San Antonio.

While SGA looked like an MVP, Victor Wembanyama struggled offensively, missing 12 straight shots, shooting 1-of-13 from the floor, and finishing with 12 points. He grabbed 13 rebounds and had 6 blocks — he was brilliant defensively — but the Spurs needed more offense from him.

It’s easy to forget that the Thunder had the best defense in the NBA last season — by a wide margin — and that showed for long stretches of this game. For the night, San Antonio shot just 38.7% from the floor, and were 10-of-37 (27%) from beyond the arc.

OKC took control in the second quarter, outscoring the Spurs 31-16, in part because the Thunder hit 5-of-8 from 3.

Jared McCain knocked down six 3-pointers and finished with 20.

Chet Holmgren was more aggressive on offense — to the point that De’Aaron Fox picked up a technical for throwing him to the ground — and finished with 14 points, while Jalen Williams had 12 points in his return but struggled with 5-of-16 shooting.

Stephon Castle had 24 points and Dylan Harper 18 for the Spurs.