After starting the year 24-1 the defending champs have suddenly lost two of their last four games, with one of those losses coming against the Spurs in the Emirates Cup Semis in Las Vegas. Regardless of these (very) recent events, they remain the team to beat, with a boatload of depth seemingly at every position on the roster and the reigning league and Finals MVP. For the Spurs though, having a win against them already in their back pocket should do loads for their confidence heading into tonight’s match-up at the Frost Bank Center. It doesn’t hurt either that OKC finds itself on a SEGABABA after playing Memphis last night.

San Antonio Spurs (21-7) vs Oklahoma City Thunder (26-3)

December 23 2025 | 7:30 PM CT

Watch: FDSS | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)

Spurs Injuries: Victor Wembanyama, calf (day to day)

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Thunder Injuries: Chet Holmgren, back (Questionable), Isaiah Hartenstein, soleus soreness, (questionable), Alex Caruso, finger sprain (questionable), Jaylin Williams, foot (questionable), Aaron Wiggins, adductor (day to day), Ousmane Dieng, calf (OUT)

What to watch for

Some key players were on the injury report for OKC in their game last night at home against Memphis, namely Alex Caruso, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Chet Holmgren. All 3 played in OKC’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves Friday night, so there’s a possibility head coach Mark Daigneault was holding some of those guys out against the lesser Memphis Grizzlies last night to be prepared for the match-ups with the Spurs this week. Should Hartenstein and Holmgren not suit up though, the Spurs will enjoy and even more significant height advantage than they already do by virtue of having Victor Wembanyama on the roster.

After head coach Mitch Johnson’s recent comments, it’s safe to assume that Wembanyama will likely be coming off the bench once again tonight. Aside from 24 minutes in the Cup Final against the Knicks, Wemby has generally been clocking in at around 20 minutes of playing time since returning from the calf strain injury that kept him out 3 weeks. If the Thunder are going to be without both their bigs tonight, he could be in for an even bigger game than the one he had against them in the Cup semifinals, even in limited minutes.

As deep as OKC’s roster is, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander remains their go-to guy, the one who puts them over the top. He’s having an unbelievable season all across the board, shooting an absurd 55% from the field as a perimeter-oriented player on his way to another 32 PPG season. He had 29-4-5 in Vegas, but the Spurs were able to force him into 5 turnovers (just 1.9 per game on the season). They also limited him to just two trips to the free throw line, where he went 4/4.

Dylan Harper had arguably his worst game as a pro in his last outing, scoring just a single point against the Washington Wizards. Trying to bounce back against a defense as good as the Thunder’s might be asking a lot of many young players, but Harper has proven to be pretty exceptional so far this year.

By many metrics, the Spurs and Thunder are two of the NBA’s very best. They’re both top 5 in Defensive Rating, while they’re both also in the top 6 in regards to Offensive Rating. For the Spurs, it’s impressive that they find themselves in this sort of company already just in Year 3 of the Victor Wembanyama era.

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