For the entirety of last season, everything that happened in the NBA world felt like an appetizer to the main course — a head-on collision between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs. That finally materialized in their epic seven-game duel in the 2026 Western Conference Finals.
The Thunder and Spurs were in a tier of their own last season. They were both 60-plus win juggernauts — blowing out teams left and right. Most penciled in either team as the eventual NBA champion. Credit the New York Knicks' historic postseason run for spoiling that. Still, when you throw in all of their tied history and playoff battles over the last two decades, OKC and San Antonio are quickly rising in the rankings as an all-time rivalry.
Most expect another
thrilling chapter to be written this upcoming 2026-27 season. The Thunder and Spurs are co-title favorites. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama are viewed as two of the three best players in the league right now. Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper are budding stars who have either already made an All-NBA team or will in the very near future.
That's why it shouldn't be a shocker to see ESPN rank the Thunder-Spurs rivalry as the second-best watch in the upcoming 2026-27 season. Zach Kram ranked the 10 best NBA rivals to watch this upcoming year. Only the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers topped them.
"This rivalry has a strong case for the No. 1 spot right now," Kram wrote. "And because both Oklahoma City and San Antonio project to remain among the NBA's title favorites for seasons to come, they're likely to keep adding to that list of memorable playoff series."
The Thunder and Spurs are only scheduled to face each other three times in the 2026-27 regular season. The biggest of those three matchups will happen on Opening Night. OKC will travel to San Antonio. Holmgren has a chance to start the new year on the right foot. Williams and Ajay Mitchell hope to prove that their absences were largely the reason why they lost Game 7.
It should be another year where the Thunder and Spurs jockey for position as the West's No. 1 seed. Don't be surprised if both end up tallying 60-plus wins again. There's just an Aday-Mara-sized difference between those two teams and the rest of the NBA.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: ESPN ranks Thunder-Spurs as 2nd-best rivalry in 2026-27 season
