The Oklahoma City Thunder still own one of the NBA’s best records, but their path this season has not been as smooth as it first appeared.
Across four meetings, the San Antonio Spurs defeated Oklahoma City three times, including a high-profile NBA Cup semifinal win that exposed a pressure point other teams later tested with success.
How the Spurs disrupted the Thunder’s rhythm
San Antonio’s most telling win came in Las Vegas, where the Spurs edged the Thunder 111 to 109 to reach the NBA Cup final. It was just Oklahoma City’s second loss of the season and snapped a 16-game winning streak.
At the time, the Thunder were 24 and 2, owning the second-best start in NBA history behind only the 2015 to 2016 Golden State Warriors. The loss was also Oklahoma City’s second straight defeat in an NBA Cup setting after falling in last year’s final.
The Spurs carried that confidence into later matchups, winning three of four meetings before Oklahoma City finally responded on the 14th of January 2026.
The defensive blueprint against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
In each Spurs victory, the defensive approach was consistent. San Antonio loaded up on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, crowding driving lanes and forcing early passes.
SGA still produced, scoring 29 points in the Cup loss, but the Spurs focused on limiting efficiency rather than volume. The result was an Oklahoma City offense that struggled to maintain its usual late-game flow.
Rather than stopping him outright, San Antonio aimed to make every possession harder and trusted that pressure would shift responsibility elsewhere.
Why the flaw lingered beyond the Spurs matchup
By committing extra defenders to Gilgeous-Alexander, the Spurs were willing to let others decide games. That often meant forcing Luguentz Dort, Alex Caruso, and other role players into larger offensive roles.
While those players are vital defensively, they are not primary creators built to punish aggressive coverage over multiple games. After the Spurs series, several teams copied the same approach, and Oklahoma City briefly slipped into a midseason slump.
The Thunder eventually adjusted and closed the season series with a win over San Antonio. Still, the blueprint had already circulated.
The Thunder remain legitimate title contenders, and they will most likely go back-to-back, but the Spurs showed that even elite teams can be nudged off balance. In the playoffs, that lesson will not be forgotten. There is a crack in the door open—another contender will try to get their foot in.
