The San Antonio Spurs are still looking for their first win of the 2026-27 NBA season after losing to the OKC Thunder in the opener. On Friday night, the Spurs will “host” Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets in Austin. Houston is 1-0 on the year and is hoping to gain some steam as Fred VanVleet shakes off the rust.
The loss to the Thunder is not the biggest storyline surrounding the Spurs. Neither, in fact, is Victor Wembanyama’s disappointing 1-for-13 shooting performance in the opener. Instead, Mitch Johnson’s insistence that De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper share the floor is the main headline.
In the opener, the Spurs were +11 in the 12 minutes where that trio shared the floor, although Wembanyama struggled to get going with that downhill lineup, and maximizing Wembanyama is clearly San Antonio’s recipe for success.
Heading into Friday’s game, Fox is questionable with a wrist injury. If he suits up, he will almost certainly be in the starting five. If he doesn’t, Castle and Harper will lead the way.
Some experts think that’s how it should be all along.
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Spurs Urged to Bench De’Aaron Fox
Against the Thunder, Fox finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. He missed both of his 3-point attempts, but got to the rim and his midrange spots with ease, looking to be in fine form.
Plus, he successfully coexisted with both Castle and Harper. In terms of the three-guard lineup, the loss was a major win.
That doesn’t mean that everyone is sold on its long-term success.
“They are more concerned about keeping Dylan Harper and De’Aaron Fox happy than putting the best team on the floor to start the game,” claimed Fox Sports’ Ric Bucher. “Worrying about egos and roles was never part of the Spurs program during the glory years. In fact, it could be argued that putting the emphasis on what’s best for the team is best for every individual, not the other way around, is what fueled their success back then.”
Now, it’s easy to refute that claim. Right now, sure, there are some kinks and growing pains to work out. If they do manage to successfully share the floor, though, then the Spurs will have the most talented starting five in the NBA, and it won’t even be close.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that there won’t be some issues early on, but San Antonio seems content on working through those. Bucher, though, thinks Fox’s ugly moment against OKC warrants an overreaction from the coaching staff.
“Fox throwing Thunder center Chet Holmgren to the ground in the second quarter backfired completely,” Bucher added. “That alone would convince me to bring De’Aaron off the bench. I find it hard to believe that won’t happen once Tobias Harris is over his calf strain. In no world am I putting Harper on the bench instead of Fox.”
If Harris is going to start (that hasn’t been cemented), then obviously someone will have to move to the bench. It probably won’t be Devin Vassell, who is the best shooter on the roster, and it probably should be Fox. However, the most likely outcome is that the starting five will remain untouched, and Harris will make his Spurs’ debut off the bench.
While Bucher can clutch his pearls over Fox’s flagrant foul on Holmgren, the move probably actually endeared him even more to Wembanyama. Remember, Wemby wanted to play with Fox. There’s no evidence to suggest that his wish has waned at all.
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