Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama calls out issues that got Thunder ‘having fun’ appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Victor Wembanyama enters the new campaign as the MVP favorite, and the San Antonio Spurs are poised to contend for the championship after reaching the NBA Finals last season. But Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the two-time reigning MVP, and the Oklahoma City Thunder are just 16 months removed from hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Any Wemby/Spurs coronation will likely still have to survive SGA/OKC. The visitors made themselves comfortable in Frost Bank Center on Tuesday night.
The Spurs failed to protect their house during their season opener and suffered a 116-104 loss. Wembanyama scored only 12 points on ugly 1-of-13 shooting, despite finding other ways to contribute, and San Antonio as a whole shot 39 percent while conceding 31 fast break points off 14 turnovers.
The face of the franchise, and potentially the NBA, attributed “bad closeouts” and miscommunication on defense as the main cause of this disappointing outcome, per Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News.
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“It’s like they were playing the right way,” Wembanyama said, according to Orsborn. “I’m sure they were having fun tonight. They were making the extra pass and we weren’t making the extra effort.”
The Spurs oozed with motivation during the 2025-26 season, as they won four of five regular season games against the Thunder before dethroning them in the Western Conference Finals. They should still be plenty hungry after suffering multiple collapses versus the New York Knicks, including perhaps the most infamous one in Finals history. Oklahoma City exuded more desire on Tuesday, however.
Victor Wembanyama can still feel positive about some of what he achieved in this opener. The 7-foot-4 Frenchman recorded 13 rebounds and six blocks, making his presence known even in an overall rough showing. He will try to swallow this serving of humble pie and do what is needed to inject some “fun” into the Spurs.
San Antonio will head to Austin and square off with the Houston Rockets in the latest edition of the I-35 Series.
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