Thunder And Spurs Trade Punches On Draft Night 2026

May 28, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams (6), guard Cason Wallace (22), and guard Jared McCain (3) attempt to get a rebound over San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) in the second half during game six of the Western Conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

Thunder And Spurs Trade Punches On Draft Night 2026

Originally posted on Stadium Rant | By David Desa | Last updated Jun 27, 2026 12:52 PM ET

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The Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs used the 2026 draft to perfection, as they both addressed some flaws in each of their rosters. San Antonio needs a more mobile big man than their current backup, Luke Kornet, and a big man who can play alongside their franchise cornerstone, Victor Wembanyama. Oklahoma City needed another big body to throw at Wembanyama because how they defended him in the Conference Finals just wasn’t going to cut it. Both of these teams did exactly that, and it was almost like watching a chess match.

The Additions That The Thunder And Spurs Made Were Vital

The NBA draft is mostly for teams that look to add players that most likely won’t make a difference right now, but could later on; both of these teams stopped that entire motive. First, it was the Thunder who drafted Aday Mara with the 12th pick out of Michigan, who is 7’3”, so you could imagine that fans are already claiming him to be the “Wemby stopper”. Then it was the Spurs who drafted Jayden Quaintance with the 20th pick out of Kentucky, as well as Tarris Reed Jr. with the 26th pick from UConn, which they acquired through a trade.

Both of these players add more size, rebounding, and physical play, which they will most definitely need if they have to play Oklahoma City once again in the playoffs. The big takeaway from all of this is the addition of Mara. All three of these players mentioned could make a real impact on their team from the jump, but Mara might be asked to do the most out of the three. This is the case because one of the main reasons the Thunder drafted him is to slow down Wembanyama. Oklahoma even doubled down on what they are trying to do by re-signing Isaiah Hartenstein to a new three-year, $75 million deal.

End Of Thunder Rant

It’s pretty obvious that both of these teams know that they’ll be meeting each other a lot in the playoffs for years to come. Rightfully so, both were objectively the two best teams in the West, and both are still young, which means they’ll continue to improve. The Thunder have made a couple of moves to cut costs, like trading Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins for nothing but second-round picks. Both of these teams made major improvements to their rosters, but only time will tell on which team’s move was greater.

This article first appeared on Stadium Rant and was syndicated with permission.

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