Recently, Zach Kram of ESPN assigned one particular stat for every team in the NBA that, in his eyes, could "swing" their fate in 2026-27. For the OKC Thunder, the one chosen was their mere 33 percent win rate against the San Antonio Spurs throughout last year's regular season and playoffs combined.
The use of this statistic is by no means surprising.
After all, against 28 other teams in the association, Oklahoma City boasted a ridiculous 84 percent win percentage, and even swept their way through the first two rounds of the postseason before succumbing to their 4-3 series defeat against San Antonio in the conference finals.
However, though this lackluster success against the Spurs certainly deserves to be highlighted, in many ways it's something that's being a bit overblown.
Yes, the Thunder may have lost to San Antonio 33 percent of the time last season, but not once did they face off at 100 percent health.
Thunder were never healthy in any matchup against Spurs last season
In 12 matchups against one another last season, the Thunder found themselves with their regular starting lineup intact for just five of them.
All-Star Jalen Williams, in particular, missed four full games and exited early in two during their seven-game playoff bout as a result of a hamstring strain.
Even in the four he suited up for during the regular season, he was working through the residual effects of undergoing surgery on his shooting wrist that previous offseason to repair a severe right scapholunate ligament tear.
Including both regular season and playoff action, rising star Ajay Mitchell was forced to miss seven games against the Spurs as a result of a number of health-related ailments, with a calf injury holding him out for the final four of their conference finals showdown.
For reference, with Mitchell in the lineup, the Thunder held a 2-1 series lead, while falling to just 1-3 without him.
Even with all of these hurdles and hardships, the Thunder were still able to give the Spurs a run for their money when it mattered most, as they fell just eight points shy in a down-to-the-wire Game 7 of punching their ticket to a second consecutive NBA Finals appearance.
So yes, OKC lost 33 percent of their total games played against San Antonio in 2025-26, but they were at full strength in zero percent of them. Hopefully, a full summer of recovery will help them stave off more chomps from the injury bug and, in turn, prove this lack of success to be a result of poor health rather than anything else.
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