• San Antonio Spurs (27-12, 2nd in the West) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (33-7, 1st in the West)
• When: Tuesday, 13 January 2026 at 7:00pm CST
• Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
• TV: NBC/Peacock and FDSN-OK
• Offensive Rating: SAS: 116.6 (7th) / OKC: 118.0 (5th)
• Defensive Rating: SAS: 111.2 (3rd) / OKC: 105.4 (1st)
• Net Rating: SAS: 5.4 (5th) / OKC: 12.6 (1st)
• Current Streaks: SAS: 2-3 in their last 5 / OKC: Winners of 3 in a row and 7-2 in their last 9

The Set-Up

The next great rivalry. Two organizations that are foundationally very similar, appear to be on a path to establishing a rivalry that will likely lead us well into the 2030s. Two small market teams cut from the same cloth. One has already gotten the grand prize. The other appears to be a year behind, but on the same upward trajectory. Add to that, you have superstars, All-Stars, MVPs, All-NBA team members, All-Defense team members, DPOY candidates, 6MOY candidates on both rosters. It’s percolating and the NBA is hoping the eruption will occur later this season in the playoffs. The old guard may be starting to retire, but the NBA’s near future is in good hands

This is the fourth of five meetings this season between the Thunder and Spurs. The Spurs have won the first 3 meetings this season, with one of the those meetings being a 2-point difference (the Cup semifinal) and the other two being decided by an average of 17.5 points.

Betting Info, presented by FanDuel

• Line: OKC -8.5
• O/U: 229.5

Injury Report

OKC

• Lu Dort – Questionable (foot)
• Isaiah Hartenstein – OUT (calf)
• Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee/ACL)
• Nikola Topic – OUT (cancer treatment)

SAS

• Devin Vassell – OUT (adductor)

Three Big Things plus 2 more

1. Dribble Penetration – One of the biggest failings in the first 3 games of the season against San Antonio has been our perimeter defense and the lack of penetration denial. De’Aaron Fox, Steph Castle, and Dylan Harper were able to get past the Thunder’s first line of defense pretty easily and get into the paint to cause havoc from there. Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, etc. were a step slow most times during those games and it put the onus squarely on Chet Holmgren’s shoulders to not only defend the dribble penetration but also keep an eye on the Spurs’ bigs.
2. Get your get back – Oklahoma City may present themselves as a “0-0 mentality, this is just 1 of 82, the next game is the most important game” type bunch. And for the most part, it’s true. But don’t believe for a second that they didn’t have this game circled on their calendars once they lost on Christmas day. They want this game and they want it in blowout fashion. They hear what the basketball zeitgeist is saying. They know that they shit the bed the last couple times they’ve played the Spurs. And they are here to right some wrongs.
3. Chet Holmgren – Speaking of getting your get back, Holmgren needs to step his game up and get over the mental block he has when facing off against Victor Wembanyama. The ironic thing is that for most of the time Holmgren has been on the floor, he’s been facing off against Luke Kornet, due to San Antonio starting Kornet in all three meetings and limiting Wembanyama to 23 minutes per game in the games against OKC. In the three games this season against San Antonio, Holmgren is averaging 11.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1 block on 41/25/71 shooting splits. That’s a far cry from his season averages of 18 points, 8 rebounds, and nearly 2 blocks on 57/37/77 shooting splits. In the previous meetings, Holmgren may have been dealing with back issues and illness, but he should be his healthiest in this meeting. Will the real Chet Holmgren please stand up!
4. Normal Shooting – Can we please get a game where the shot making is normal? I mean, even for the Thunder. I’d like to see a game where shooting variance doesn’t rear it’s ugly head. Both teams shoot about 35% from deep. Let’s keep it there. No outliers, please (unless it’s OKC shooting the lights out ;-)
5. Ajay Mitchell – One of the biggest things missing from the two blowout losses the Thunder suffered against the Spurs was the absence of Ajay Mitchell. With Mitchell out, the Thunder had only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the lone ball-handler/shot-creator on the team. Jalen Williams would normally fill that role, but his continued recovery from wrist surgery has hampered that part of his game. Mitchell adds another wrinkle to the Thunder’s offense (and defense) that could unlock parts of the game that were missing in the last two meetings between these two teams.