Anytime the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs are on opposite sides of the court, the latest example of that happened on 2026-27 NBA Opening Night. It only took the start of the second quarter for fireworks to set off between the two co-title favorites.
The Thunder enjoyed a 116-104 win over the Spurs. It wasn't exactly a one-for-one from last year's Western Conference Finals, but it was a fantastic way to get things going in this new NBA marathon. That said, there were some extracurricular activities involved.
In the opening moments of the second quarter, De'Aaron Fox tossed Chet Holmgren across the floor. That immediately started an NBA-sanctioned scuffle. Several Thunder players went at the Spurs' All-Star player. And then Victor
Wembanyama jumped straight into it.
Eventually, both sides were separated. After a lengthy review, the NBA referee crew handed out a long list of punishments — Fox was handed a flagrant foul. And then Wembanyama, Jalen Williams, Jaylin Williams and Kenrich Williams each received technical fouls.
After the Thunder enjoyed a therapeutic win to open the 2026-27 regular season, several players reacted to Fox's flagrant foul on Holmgren and the ensuing punishments handed out for the sake of peace. After it happened, both teams returned to just playing high-level hoops:
Chet Holmgren:
"I mean, I'm not going to think too much of the play. At the end of the day, s--t, I'm going to get up and keep hooping. But I appreciate my teammates having my back. I'm not necessarily sure how exactly we get three techs when for a reaction to something else. I don't fully understand that. But at the end of the day, I feel like anything that you're not willing to reciprocate is an advantage for the other team. So if they want that physical, we have to match that."
Jalen Williams:
"Just be there for my teammate. That's it. I didn't really like the play. I just ran in there. If anybody has ever been in a scuffle, there's really not a lot of thinking to it. It's just to make sure I have my guys back in there. NBA scuffles are just grab whoever's close and just push. Cost me $2,500, though. It's the first-ever Williams-Williams-Williams T-up, so happy to be a part of it."
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Couple of OKC Thunder players react to De'Aaron Fox's flagrant foul on Chet Holmgren
