Where Can OKC Thunder Improve After Deflating Loss to the Spurs?

For the second straight year, Oklahoma City fell flat in a big spot during the NBA Cup. It’s certainly better than falling flat in the NBA Finals, but still a disappointing outcome for the Thunder — especially against a budding conference rival, the San Antonio Spurs. For whatever reason, Oklahoma City hasn’t been at its best in Vegas.

In Victor Wembanyama’s return from injury, he stole every headline imaginable and gave this Thunder team many problems on the floor. He simply dominated his minutes, and his limited playing time is ultimately what won San Antonio the game.

Oklahoma City got off to a hot start, but once Wembanyama entered the game, it felt like everything changed. And the stat sheet backs that up. In just 21 minutes, he was a +21. He poured in 22 points and nine rebounds, and took over the game in the fourth quarter. It felt like it just meant a little bit more to him, and he took the matchup personally.

At 24-2, it’s certainly not a reason to panic for this Thunder team. But as Mark Daigneault mentioned a week ago, there’s still room for growth despite the historic start — and that rings even truer now. Where can Oklahoma City improve after the close loss to San Antonio? Chet Holmgren had a few ideas after the game.

Chet Holmgren on what the Thunder can learn from the loss to the Spurs, and how Wemby changed the game when he came in pic.twitter.com/3PV5lbCG1k
— Andrew Schlecht (@AndrewKSchlecht) December 14, 2025

“A lot of things,” Holmgren said when asked what the team could learn from a game like this. “Whether we won or lost, we were gonna go back to the film and see where we can improve. We’re going to have to watch the film back and really dive into it, but we definitely didn’t play a perfect game tonight. There’s going to be things we can clean up.

“The game definitely changes anytime a very unique player comes into the game,” Holmgren said of Wembanyama’s return. “He does things that their other lineups don’t replicate. Definitely changes the game, changes how they play, and changes how we have to play them.

Holmgren did his best adding 17 points and seven rebounds in 30 minutes. Oklahoma City was a +18 with him on the floor. Down the stretch, though, he had a few head-to-head matchups against Wembanyama that didn’t go his way, and nobody could step up and stop the Spurs big man.

For Oklahoma City, part of it is just settling in and capitalizing on open looks. San Antonio’s defense didn’t give up many, but the Thunder missed so many deflating open threes that usually seem to go in. On the evening, OKC was just 9-of-37 from 3-point range.

The second area that stands out is the turnover department, and Oklahoma City gave away the ball too many times in high-leverage situations. Part of that was due to stagnant offense, and the ball sticking, which happened occasionally during the playoffs. The more games that this lineup plays together, though, the better it'll get. The Thunder ended the game with 14 turnovers, and five came from the reigning MVP.

The Spurs forced some of that, but Oklahoma City definitely beat itself in some areas.

“I’d say they didn’t give us anything easy, they definitely limited the easy ones and made everything tough," Holmgren said. "I feel like some of the stuff was self inflicted, too. A lot of areas I can be better. Just knowing when to attack and where to attack from, and how to move the floor. All things that we have to get better at and I have to get better at too. I’m sure we’re going to do that.”

Ultimately, these games are good for the Thunder, even if it's hard to see in the moment. You can learn more in the close, clutch losses than you can in 40-point wins every night. Experiences like this, and figuring out where improvement is needed, will be crucial when it's postseason time.