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The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder have quickly become one of the biggest rivalries in the NBA, and it didn’t take long for things to get chippy between the two sides on Tuesday.
During the second quarter of the season-opening game, Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox pulled OKC’s Chet Holmgren to the ground, and it led to a scuffle between the two teams, with San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama getting involved.
Four players received technical fouls, and Fox was given a Flagrant 1.
The Spurs and Thunder met in the Western Conference Finals last season, and the intense series went to seven games before San Antonio knocked out the defending champs en route to its first Finals appearance since 2014.
The two Western Conference powerhouses got to know each other well during that series, and clearly, the tension has been carried into the new season.
Along with the rivalry between the Spurs and Thunder, there has been an unspoken rivalry between Wembanyama and Holmgren throughout their career. Neither has ever taken a direct shot at the other, but Wembanyama has shaded Holmgren a few times in the past.
“At least from a basketball standpoint, there’s no comparison between us,” Wembanyama said of Holmgren last December.
The personal rivalry between the two started well before their NBA careers, but it has been an interesting storyline in the Spurs vs. Thunder rivalry.
While there were plenty of changes around the NBA this offseason, San Antonio and Oklahoma City remain two of the top contenders to win it all. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see those two meet in the Western Conference Finals again this year.
Until then, they’ll battle it out in the regular season.
After opening up the season against each other on Tuesday, the Spurs and Thunder won’t meet again until February, and they’ll get another regular-season matchup in March.
