The San Antonio Spurs entered the preseason lacking some of the traits that will set the team apart in the regular season. The most important of these was size. The Spurs were without Victor Wembanyama, Zach Collins and Charles Bassey against the Oklahoma City Thunder. OKC was able to accomplish everything they wanted en route to a 112-107 win over the undersized Spurs.

The Thunder outscored the Spurs 56-36 in the game and shot 50.5% from the field overall. San Antonio struggled with turnovers and coughed up the ball 21 times, resulting in 26 points being given up. Despite the poor defense and poor turnovers, Spurs’ shooting kept them in the game. San Antonio shot 39.5% from distance on 43 attempts.

They were led by Julian Champagnie, who started at shooting guard in place of the injured Devin Vassell. He had 22 points and 7 rebounds while going 6-13 from three rebounds. Sandro Mamukelashvili scored 14 points off the bench and hit three triples. Jalen Williams led the Thunder with 18 points in just 17 minutes.

San Antonio will get a day off before taking on the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, October 9th.

Observations

• Stephon Castle had a debut with ups and downs in Silver and Black. The rookie seemed physically ready for the next level and showed off his court vision with some great cross-court passes. He struggled with turnovers and finished the game with 5 points, 3 assists and 6 turnovers. Castle’s grip appeared to be loose as he was pressured by the Thunder’s tough fullbacks. He will try to compound his mistakes as the preseason progresses.
• Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley had a longer run, playing 18 minutes each. Wesley brought the intensity on defense and provided some great dishes on offense, finishing with 3 points, 7 assists, 2 steals and only one turnover. Branham made some nice moves on offense but was inefficient overall, shooting 5-14 from the floor en route to 12 points.
• A slimmed-down Keldon Johnson looked…mostly the same? He still made aggressive attacks on the basket on offense and was inconsistent on defense. His progress can be followed as the pre-season continues.
• Riley Minix and Malachi Flynn stood out among Spurs training camp invitees. Flynn tried to get the Spurs back in the game by scoring late in the fourth quarter and finishing with nine points. Minix made a great turnaround at the post and secured third place off the bench en route to 8 points.