Spurs and Thunder open a Western Conference season of predictions

The NBA's 2026-27 season starts Tuesday, Oct. 20, with a rematch of last season's Western Conference finals Game 7: the San Antonio Spurs host the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Tip-off at San Antonio's Frost Bank Center is set for 9:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. PT), according to Yahoo Sports. The game airs on NBC and streams on Peacock.

The history behind the opener

The Spurs beat the Thunder 111-103 on the road in Game 7 of last season's Western Conference finals, according to onesports.ph. Yahoo Sports described that series as a contentious seven-game fight and said the Spurs also won four of five regular-season meetings. A headline carried by onesports.ph says the Game 7 win dethroned the Thunder as NBA champions.

The Thunder still had the NBA's best regular-season record last year, per onesports.ph. Yahoo Sports said the opener could be viewed as a chance for Oklahoma City to gain some revenge against the Spurs.

Predictions are out

Forecast pieces have arrived for opening week. Bleacher Report published win-loss record predictions for every team on Monday. Yahoo Sports ran a conference standings projection on Sunday, and The Oklahoman published player stat predictions for the Thunder. The article text for those pieces was not available to us, so we are not reporting their picks.

One game cannot settle how the West will shake out. The standings will show over time whether the Spurs and Thunder separate from the rest of the conference.

The Spurs also face the Knicks on Christmas, according to Yahoo Sports.