Spurs open against Thunder with three-guard lineup in focus

San Antonio gets Oklahoma City again on the NBA's first night, with the Thunder returning to face the team that ended their title defense. Tuesday's opener at Frost Bank Center tips at 9:30 p.m. Eastern on NBC and Peacock.

The Spurs won the teams' last meeting, 111-103 in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. This matchup brings together the West's top two regular-season teams from 2025-26: Oklahoma City won 64 games and San Antonio won 62. The NBA's game page confirms the opening-night matchup.

San Antonio's guard rotation is one of the opening-night questions identified in the October 18 FLM preview. De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper discussed sharing the floor during the summer, according to Field Level Media's preview. Victor Wembanyama welcomed having several ball handlers around him and more options in the pick-and-roll.

The basketball question is how those guards share the work. Fox can bring the ball up without having to initiate every possession; Castle or Harper can take a turn while another guard moves away from the ball. Those are options the proposed group offers, rather than a confirmed starting lineup for Tuesday. Coach Mitch Johnson's rotation will show how much time they actually spend together.

Wembanyama supplied a preseason reminder of his range when he forced a miss, brought the ball upcourt and threw himself an alley-oop off the glass. The NBA posted that sequence October 17; it is preseason footage, ahead of Tuesday's opener.

FLM's preview identifies two-time defending MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren as Oklahoma City's core. Its supporting cast has changed: FLM reported that Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe were traded during the offseason.

San Antonio also added veteran forward Tobias Harris during the offseason. Tuesday immediately gives both coaching staffs a familiar opponent against which to examine their new combinations. For the Spurs' three guards, the first assignment is against a team they had to beat over seven games to reach the Finals.