The Oklahoma City Thunder held practice on Saturday, Oct. 17. They're only four days away from Opening Night. They will face the San Antonio Spurs to kick things off for the 2026-27 regular season.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault and Kenrich Williams talked to the local media. Daigneault addressed Chet Holmgren's Opening Night status. He missed all five of OKC's preseason games with a quad contusion. He also talked about the Aday Mara legal drama with his old Spanish club.
Meanwhile, Williams hyped up Mara, Bennett Stirtz and Cason Wallace. With Wallace getting the highest praise of the bunch as his official prediction for OKC's biggest-leap candidate.
Here's everything else that happened at OKC's Saturday, Oct. 17 NBA practice:
Mark Daigneault on the Aday Mara legal situation with his old Spanish club: “I don't have a comment on it. The team put out a statement and I'll stand by that.” pic.twitter.com/22zgrPL5Yv
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) October 17, 2026
Mark Daigneault on Chet Holmgren’s Opening Night status: “Everybody did something in practice today, to varying degrees based on individual situations. But in terms of availability for any player, I'll just I'll leave it to the injury report.” pic.twitter.com/bjRN9xdLw6
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) October 17, 2026
Mark Daigneault: “Practice had some pop to it today. We’ve got to continue to gear up for an 82-game season, and that's what we'll do.” pic.twitter.com/qCRIkydxx7
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) October 17, 2026
Kenrich Williams on Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz: “They’ve shown flashes of greatness. They got potential to really help out this year for sure.” pic.twitter.com/8Gg8jLk6lU
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) October 17, 2026
Kenrich Williams on his 3-pointer he made on James Johnson’s grill: “That's just part of the game. Just being there for your teammate and just kinda just letting that competition take over.” pic.twitter.com/lLj6mQVlQz
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) October 17, 2026
Kenrich Williams on his 3-pointer he made on James Johnson’s grill: “That's just part of the game. Just being there for your teammate and just kinda just letting that competition take over.” pic.twitter.com/lLj6mQVlQz
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) October 17, 2026
Kenrich Williams on Otega Oweh’s torn Achilles: “You never want to see anybody go down. Whether that's your teammate or the opposing team. Especially for a rookie. He was playing pretty good. It just sucks for a guy like that. My prayers and thoughts are definitely with him.” pic.twitter.com/nj5O4JMB5p
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) October 17, 2026
Kenrich Williams on Cason Wallace: “Out of everybody, I think Caso is going to be the one to make the biggest jump this year. I'm calling it right now.” pic.twitter.com/tMzJg7fgFd
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) October 17, 2026
Kenrich Williams on his 7th season on the Thunder: “I’m definitely grateful to be back. Definitely grateful and appreciative that the front office and coach were on board with that. I always say that I want to retire here in OKC. I mean that.” pic.twitter.com/o3SGyar1g9
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) October 17, 2026
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Recap: What OKC Thunder said at Saturday, Oct. 17 NBA practice