Steph Castle | OKC Topic Thunder

#2 San Antonio Spurs (8-3) vs. #1 Oklahoma City Thunder (8-0)
When: Monday, 18 May 2026 at 7:30pm CST
Where: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK
TV: NBC/Peacock
Playoff Offensive Rating (of the remaining playoff teams): SAS: 117.3 (3rd) / OKC: 126.3 (1st)
Playoff Defensive Rating (of the remaining playoff teams): SAS: 102.2 (1st) / OKC: 109.3 (3rd)
Playoff Net Rating (of the remaining playoff teams): SAS: 15.2 (3rd) / OKC: 17.0 (2nd)
Series Record: 0-0

The Tip-Off

Inevitabilities in life: taxes, death, and the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs meeting in the 2026 Western Conference Finals. These two freight trains have been on a collision course since it became evident that San Antonio had jumped into a Mario warp pipe and skipped from level 2 to level 8 on the development curve. Having a generational talent like Victor Wembanyama will allow you to do that. Then came the five meetings this year between these two teams and the narrative that San Antonio is probably the best equipped team to knock off the champs in the playoff series, and you get to where we are now. First to four for Western Conference supremacy and a trip to the NBA Finals. ANNNNDDD….it’s on NBC. Cue the music, John Tesh.

Season Series

Game 1 – Dec. 13th (San Antonio won 111-109) – This was the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas, NV. A back and forth affair in the 4th quarter. San Antonio hit just enough more shots late in the game to keep OKC at bay and hold on to a 2-point victory. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 29 points and 5 assists, but also had 5 turnovers and shot 1-7 from deep. San Antonio, on the over hand, had four players with at least 22 points, led by Devin Vessell.

Game 2 – Dec. 23rd (San Antonio won 130-110) – OKC held a 2-point lead at halftime and then proceeded to get blown out 72-50 in the 2nd half. The Spurs were the aggressors, as evidenced by the disparity in free throw attempts (24-7), forced turnovers (15-9), and points in the paint (60-48). SGA led the way again with 33 points, with Jalen Williams chipping in with 17 points. San Antonio was led by Keldon Johnson (25 points) and Steph Castle (24 points).

Game 3 – Dec. 25th (San Antonio won 117-102) – Definitely, the “oh shit” moment for the Thunder. OKC finally got a Christmas game at home and came out and laid an egg against the Spurs. OKC shot 39% from the field and struggled to consistently get stops on the defensive end. The flashpoint in this game was Alex Caruso shooting 2-12 from deep (but starting off 0-9 before finally seeing one go through late in the 3rd quarter). De’Aaron Fox led the way for San Antonio with 29 points with Wembanyama contributing with 19 points and 11 rebounds. SGA scored 22 points on 7/19 shooting, while Isaiah Hartenstein had 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Game 4 – Jan. 13th (OKC won 119-98) – The “get back” game for the Thunder. Were more the aggressors in this one, holding San Antonio to 40% shooting from the field and winning the points in the paint battle, 56-40. OKC used a huge third quarter that saw them turn a 3-point halftime lead into a 19-point lead heading into the fourth. OKC was led by SGA with 34 points and Dub with 20 points. Steph Castle had 20 points and Wemby had 17 and 7 for the Spurs.

Game 5 – Feb. 4th (San Antonio won 116-106) – The “scheduled loss” game for OKC. Second night of a back to back. Third game in four nights. And, with four previous games against the Spurs, the team probably saw this as an opportunity to see if there was something unconventional that could be discovered in this game. What many thought would be a blow-out going away turned into a very competitive game that saw the Spurs starters play until the last minute of the game. OKC was led by Kenrich Williams (25 points and 9 rebounds), Jaylin Williams (24 points and 12 rebounds), and Aaron Wiggins (20 points). The Spurs were led by Keldon Johnson (25 points) and Wembanyama (22 points and 14 rebounds).

Betting Info, presented by FanDuel

Line: OKC -6.5
O/U: 221.5

Injury Report

OKC

Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee/ACL)

SAS

De’Aaron Fox – Questionable (ankle)
Luke Kornet – Questionable (foot)

Five Big Things

Healthy J-Dub – One of the biggest X-factors for OKC is whether they’ll get a healthy Jalen Williams for the series. In the regular season games, Williams played in the four consequential games for OKC but was never fully healthy. He was still recovering from his offseason wrist surgery and was working his way back during all four of those Spurs games. In that quartet of games, Dub averaged 16.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.3 turnovers, and 2.5 steals with 44/36/67 shooting splits. While those numbers look okay, they pale in comparison to what an healthy, efficient Dub stat-line would look like. If San Antonio is going to put full effort into stopping SGA, having a healthy Dub is necessary for OKC to continuously pressure the Spurs defense.
Chet’s mindset – For a player that was an All-Star and will likely be on one of the All-NBA teams, Holmgren’s four games against San Antonio were as forgettable as they come. The Thunder big man averaged 10.5 points and 8 rebounds on 39/20/80 shooting splits. For OKC to be successful in this series, they need Holmgren to be effective out there. Someone that makes San Antonio pay as a release valve and someone the Spurs needs to pay attention to. Too many times in those four San Antonio games, Holmgren was just a body out there, allowing the Spurs to load up in the paint and forcing OKC to be primarily a jump-shooting team. He doesn’t necessarily need to win every battle against Wembanyama, but he does need leave his imprint on every game.
Ajay Mitchell – Mitchell played in only one of the five games against San Antonio this season. Ironically, it was the game where OKC won. As Mitchell’s star has grown throughout these playoffs, he becomes the unknown factor in this series against the Spurs. Being that secondary/tertiary ball-handler is something OKC did not have in most of the games against San Antonio this season and something the Spurs haven’t seen a ton of in these playoffs. Portland plays similarly to OKC with Deni Avdija being the offensive engine, but Scoot Henderson and Jrue Holiday aren’t necessarily on the level of Dub and Ajay Mitchell. Minnesota had an Anthony Edwards at about 80% and Ayo Dosunmu and Julius Randle, two players who are primarily attackers and not play-makers.
Jared McCain – Can McCain play in this series? He’d definitely be a weapon as a floor spacer, but can he hang defensively with San Antonio’s guard attack. Is it a short leash situation where if the shot is falling, you take the defensive liability? McCain was obtained on February 3rd and didn’t play in the final meeting of the season between OKC and the Spurs. Like Mitchell, could McCain’s addition into the rotation provide a look the Spurs haven’t seen before from OKC?
Turning Castle over – If there is a guard the Thunder could target with defensive pressure, it could be Steph Castle. The 2nd-year guard is averaging 3.1 turnovers per game in the playoffs, which is most on the team. His physicality lends itself to committing offensive fouls and being a bit careless with the ball at times. If the Thunder want to infuse any of their DNA into this series, it’s going to start on the defensive end with turning turnovers into points. They are first in the league this postseason in that category, scoring 22.9 points per game off turnovers.

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

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.
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.
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!
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 ;-)
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.