After a long and eventful offseason, the 2026-27 NBA season is finally here. We have a couple of fascinating Eastern Conference matchups to start the proceedings on Tuesday, but the most interesting game of the night could be a rematch of last season’s Western Conference Finals.
The two most recent Western Conference champions will meet in San Antonio on Tuesday, as the Spurs will host the Oklahoma City Thunder in what is sure to be a hotly contested matchup. Tip-off is set for 9:30 p.m. ET and the market has essentially priced this game as a true coin flip on a neutral court.
San Antonio is a 2.5-point home favorite for this matchup and the total is set at 231.5 at DraftKings Sportsbook. Let’s dig into some of the best player prop bets for this opening night contest between Western Conference rivals.
Thunder vs. Spurs NBA Player Prop Bets
Chet Holmgren Under 13.5 Points (-120)
The last we saw of Chet Holmgren on a basketball court, he was faltering on a massive stage against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. The Gonzaga product was far from his best in the postseason, and he’s really struggled in this matchup in recent years. In 11 meetings against the Spurs over the course of the 2025-26 campaign, Holmgren finished with 14 or more points just three times while averaging only 10.6 points per game on just under 30 minutes played. When solely factoring in the regular season, the lanky big man has had no answer for what Wembanyama brings to the table defensively, putting up just 10.5 points per game in the four regular season meetings a year ago. The Frenchman takes this rivalry personally, and Holmgren has been unable to respond.
Even if you removed the history between these two highly-touted big men heading into this game, it’s not a guarantee that Holmgren plays a ton of minutes on Tuesday. After all, he didn’t play in the preseason as he missed time with a nagging quad injury. While he’s not listed on the injury report prior to Tuesday’s game, it’s entirely possible that we see more minutes than expected from rookie big man Aday Mara — especially considering his elite size and intriguing skillset. All things considered, I can only look toward the under on Holmgren’s points prop.
Dylan Harper Over 25.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-113)
Dylan Harper was one of the emerging young stars from last postseason, and for good reason. The Rutgers product was impressive over the course of his rookie campaign, but the playoffs saw him raise his game to the next level — averaging over a combined 22 points + rebounds + assists while shooting 51.5% from the field in the process. It got to the point where San Antonio’s coaching staff couldn’t keep the young guard off the floor, and he rewarded them for their belief. Harper more than proved himself to be a high-level starting guard on the sport’s biggest stage, recording multiple 20+ point games in the NBA Finals and clearing this prop in four of his last seven playoff games.
The Spurs currently have a bit of a logjam at guard between Harper, Stephon Castle and veteran De’Aaron Fox. However, San Antonio is showing faith in Harper following his excellent postseason by inserting him into the lineup for the season opener. Harper is certainly familiar with Oklahoma City, and when he was healthy in that Western Conference Finals series, the combo guard averaged 27 points + rebounds + assists against the best perimeter defense in the sport. While he might make some mistakes on opening night, Harper is as fearless as he is talented, and I’d expect a confident showing from the second-year guard in this one.