The Oklahoma City Thunder's 2025-26 season ended at the hands of the Spurs, and they won't have to wait long to see San Antonio once the 2026-27 season begins. On Tuesday, Oct. 20, the NBA's opening night, OKC will travel to Frost Bank Center to take on the reigning Western Conference champions at 8:30 p.m. CT.
It's exactly the situation that the Thunder should've been hoping for. Nothing can make up for May's Game 7 loss, but starting the season by getting a win over San Antonio would still be pretty satisfying.
Of course, things would be different had the Spurs beaten the Knicks in the NBA Finals, as facing San Antonio on opening night would mean that Oklahoma City would be on the other end of the ring ceremony. That wouldn't be as fun, though; on the flip side, maybe it could've been, with the Thunder playing spoiler.
They can still play spoiler by getting the upper hand over the Spurs to start the season, setting themselves on the path to regaining their status as not just the top team in the conference but in the league.
Three NBA games on Opening Night on Oct. 20:
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) August 11, 2026
Boston at Detroit
Philadelphia at New York
Oklahoma City at San Antonio pic.twitter.com/lUmg5gd5uQ
Thunder should be glad to play Spurs on opening night
You can say the league dropped the ball by sending Oklahoma City to Minnesota on Christmas Day, when there were more exciting opponents for the Thunder, but at least the NBA came through with OKC's first game of the season.
Though it would've been nice for the Thunder to host the Spurs on opening night, it's probably even better that they'll be on the road. Being in what will be a supercharged environment should actually thrill OKC even more. They're being thrown right into the fire, and that's the kind of scenario that a team full of competitors loves.
It's been a long few months without the Thunder, but the sour taste of how last season ended is still lingering. That disappointment has faded a little with time, but it's still there. You can bet that, while OKC has gotten over it, it hasn't forgotten it.
Though the start of the regular season is still over two months away, knowing that Oklahoma City will have a chance at some revenge in game 1 of 82 makes the wait worth it.
It will be the first of what should be several primetime matchups between Oklahoma City and San Antonio, and maybe even another preview of what's to come in the 2027 playoffs, but with a different outcome this time.
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