The Oklahoma City Thunder are set to face the San Antonio Spurs for the fourth time in the 2025-26 NBA season. The Shai Gilgeous-Alexander-led team will play against the Spurs five times in the regular season. As their fourth meeting nears, there are questions about how the Thunder will stop Victor Wembanyama and his squad.
San Antonio currently has a 3-0 lead in the series. Originally, the two teams were set to face each other four times. However, they played against each other in the West Semifinals of the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup. On Sunday, the reigning league MVP was asked about his thoughts on playing the Spurs for the fourth time.
The Thunder had just secured a 124-112 win over the Miami Heat. The defending champions are looking to extend their current three-game win streak when they play the Spurs on Tuesday.
“I haven’t thought about it yet, but since we’re here… yup, we gotta win,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Just like every other night. Wake up and you want to win a basketball game.
“It’s obviously a very good team who’s gotten the better of us recently. Should be a fun one, should be competitive. We got to go out there and do the necessary things to win the game and if we don’t will most likely lose.”
Through the three games that the Thunder has played against the Spurs, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged 28.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists. In their previous matchup, San Antonio held him to just 22 points on a lowly 36.8% shooting.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander comments on Jalen Williams’ hand injury
Thunder’s Jalen Williams hasn’t been 100% this season. Over the summer, he underwent surgery to repair the torn ligament in his right wrist. As a result, he missed the first 19 games of the 2025-26 campaign. Williams’ numbers haven’t been the same as last season, averaging 17.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists on 46.2% shooting.
It’s also obvious that the one-time All-Star is having trouble shooting from beyond the arc. He’s only making 28.6% from deep, far from the 36.5% efficiency he shot last season. After their game on Sunday, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander commented on Williams’ improvement with his hand injury.
“He has no choice. If we’re gonna win. We’re gonna need his best version. He knows that and we know that. That’ll get better as the season goes on. I didn’t expect him to average 40 out of the gate,” SGA said.
SGA on JDub’s improvement as he works back from injury:
“He has no choice. If we’re gonna win. We’re gonna need his best version. He knows that and we know that. That’ll get better as the season goes on. I didn’t expect him to average 40 out of the gate.”
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) January 12, 2026
When he’s on the bench, Williams wears a heated glove to help stiffen the muscles.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
