What to Watch For in OKC Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs on Christmas Day

The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on the San Antonio Spurs on Christmas Day, here is what to watch for in this contest.

Dec 23, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives to the basket between San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) and guard Stephon Castle (5) during the second half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Christmas Day is a special time on the NBA calendar. This is the largest viewed regular-season date on the NBA calendar. For some casual basketball fans, this marks the start of the season as their viewing habits slowly transition out of football as teams get eliminated.

The Oklahoma City Thunder make their return to the Christmas Day slate for the first time since 2018, hosting a Holiday hoop session for the first time since 2017, as they take on the San Antonio Spurs in the third meeting over the course of the past two weeks.

The OKC Thunder dropped the first two games against San Antonio over the last two weeks including on Tuesday night where the Spurs handed the Bricktown Ballers their most lopsided loss of the season.

This has rightfully caused the Spurs to enjoy plenty of flowers of this budding team's rise to contention status in the NBA. There have been some questions that have creeped into the minds of some Nationally about Oklahoma City, despite them being the reigning champions, now this game comes back at home where the Thunder are unbeaten. How will they respond?

Dec 23, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots over San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson (3) during the second half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

What to Watch For

Chet Holmgren. In each outing against the Spurs, Holmgren has been a non-factor. He is on the court in name only, which is shocking considering his typical high-end impact especially this season as he enjoys a year three leap. How can Holmgren get back to his typical self against Victor Wembanyama who is arguably the most difficult matchup for him.

Can Jalen Williams get the shooters roll? While the Santa Clara product was not great in Vegas against the Spurs, on Tuesday his messy box score gets a tad overblown. He got to his spots well for 48 minutes and to comfortable shots but it wasn't until the second half (just nine points on 57% shooting) that they started to fall. Can he put a more consistent game up against this lethal Spurs defense?

Along those same lines, can the Thunder sure up their half court offense when playing against Wembanyama. He anchors the rim to the point Oklahoma City didn't dare enter the paint outside of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Spurs didn't allow any high quality shots from beyond the arc to make matters worse. How can the Thunder adjust?

Game Information

• Date: Dec. 25
• Matchup: OKC Thunder (26-4) vs. San Antonio Spurs (22-7)
• Time: 01:30 PM CT
• Location: Paycom Center –– Oklahoma City, OK
• TV: ABC
• Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM)

The Oklahoma City Thunder are hoping ot bounce back from their two straight losses to these Spurs during this Christmas Day clash on Thursday. This game is sure to create plenty of storylines, especially if the Thunder fall yet again to San Antonio.

Stay tuned to Thunder on SI for complete coverage of this Oklahoma City Thunder season as the Bricktown Ballers continue to make history this season.