The Oklahoma City Thunder head into the 2026-27 season with one clear goal: get back to the NBA Finals.

Two years removed from a championship and one year removed from a seven-game Western Conference Finals loss to the San Antonio Spurs, OKC opens the new campaign Tuesday, Oct. 20, on the road in San Antonio. The home opener follows Thursday, Oct. 22, against the Denver Nuggets.

Both games carry weight. The Spurs eliminated the Thunder in last season's conference finals. Denver, led by Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, looms as another Western Conference contender.

Williams returns as OKC's biggest addition

The Thunder's most significant roster upgrade didn't come through a trade. It came from the training room.

All-Star forward Jalen Williams played just 33 games in 2025-26 after offseason wrist surgery and multiple hamstring strains. Hamstring injuries alone sidelined him for 30 of his 49 missed regular-season games and 10 of the team's 15 playoff contests, according to Thunderous Intentions.

At Thunder Media Day on Sept. 28, Williams told 98.1 FM's The Sports Animal that he felt "back to pretty close to like 100 percent" roughly a week after the NBA Finals ended in late June. He explained that his hamstring never fully healed during the season because he kept rushing back for high-stakes moments.

Williams expects to be fully healthy for the Oct. 20 opener. It will mark the first time San Antonio faces a full-strength Williams since the 2024-25 championship season. He told NBA TV at media day that he expects the Spurs game to carry "a playoff-type atmosphere."

When healthy in 2024-25, Williams averaged 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.6 steals on 48.4 percent shooting, earning All-NBA and All-Defensive honors.

Wallace's extension hangs over camp

Guard Cason Wallace's rookie-scale contract extension remains unsigned as of Thursday, Oct. 1. The Oklahoma Gazette reported that if no deal is in place by mid-October, "things may get interesting." General manager Sam Presti has previously traded star players on rookie contracts who did not sign extensions, including James Harden, Josh Giddey, and Reggie Jackson.

Wallace, 22, deflected questions about the situation at media day on Sept. 28. He told reporters the matter is "between my agent and Sam [Presti]" and that he is "not even thinking about it," Thunderous Intentions reported.

On the court, Wallace started 58 of 77 games in 2025-26, averaging 9.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.1 steals while shooting 36.4 percent from deep. The Thunder went 49-9 in games he started. Head coach Mark Daigneault stopped short of naming Wallace the starter at media day but offered a strong endorsement, saying Wallace "started Finals games for us" and is "somebody that I trust as much as anybody."

Roster shakeup and depth

The biggest offseason departure was Luguentz Dort, traded to the Atlanta Hawks in a deal that shed $17.7 million from the payroll. Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe also left via trade.

The projected starting five, per the Oklahoma Gazette: point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, shooting guard Wallace, small forward Williams, power forward Chet Holmgren and center Isaiah Hartenstein. Ajay Mitchell, who averaged 13.6 points and 3.6 assists in 2025-26, is the likely sixth man. Alex Caruso, Jared McCain and Jaylin Williams round out the rotation. One roster spot remains open.

Gilgeous-Alexander, the two-time reigning Michael Jordan Trophy (MVP) winner, anchors the operation. A third consecutive award would place him alongside Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird.

What to watch

The Thunder won 64 games in 2025-26, per the Oklahoma Gazette, but injuries gutted their playoff run. Health is the variable again. Caruso has struggled to stay healthy over the past two regular seasons, and the Thunder owe him more than $60 million through 2028-29.

Defensively, Holmgren and Hartenstein give OKC elite rim protection. The concern is rebounding and offensive flow when Gilgeous-Alexander sits.

After the Oct. 20 opener and Oct. 22 home game, the early schedule features a Nov. 22 trip to Miami and a Nov. 25 home date against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Training camp opened Sept. 29, and the first preseason game is Tuesday, Oct. 6, against the New Orleans Pelicans in Tulsa.