10 games to watch: Victor Wembanyama's 4th NBA season

Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs are coming back hungry.

The San Antonio Spurs made the leap last season, winning 28 more games than they did in 2024-25 and reaching the NBA Finals, eliminating the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder along the way. Their core is still young; Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle and Victor Wembanyama are just 20, 21 and 22 years old, respectively. But expectations are sky high and this may be the most must-watch team in the league once again.

Here are 10 must-see matchups from

the Spurs’ 2026-27 schedule

, listed in chronological order:

1. 2026 Western Conference Finals rematch

Thunder vs. Spurs

– Tues, Oct. 20 (

9:30 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock

)

These teams may be battling for NBA supremacy for much of the next decade, and there’s no better way to open the Western Conference schedule than with the first of their three regular-season meetings. It’s the reigning MVP against the guy most likely to be the next MVP, and also an opportunity for Chet Holmgren to exorcise some demons after struggling in the Western Conference finals.

2. Top rebounding units battle

Rockets vs. Spurs

– Fri, Oct. 23 (

9:30 p.m. ET, Prime

The Rockets are getting back Fred VanVleet and should remain in that second tier of the Western Conference. This is a matchup of

the best offensive rebounding team

(Houston) and

the best defensive rebounding team

(San Antonio) in the league last season, and it takes place in Austin, where Kevin Durant played one season for the University of Texas.

3. 2026 Western Conference semifinals rematch

Timberwolves vs. Spurs

– Sat, Oct. 31 (

8 p.m. ET, League Pass

The Wolves won two of the three regular season meetings last season, but the Spurs eliminated them in the Western Conference semifinals, holding Minnesota to just

102.1 points per 100 possessions

over the six games. Castle and Harper vs. Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball could provide some incredibly entertaining matchups over the next several years.

4. Emirates NBA Cup

Warriors vs. Spurs

– Fri, Nov. 13

(

Stephen Curry is the Wembanyama of the offensive end of the floor in that he affects everything that happens with just his presence on the court. And we should savor every matchup between one superstar who’s just scratching the surface and another who’s on his way out. This one will be the second Emirates NBA Cup game for both teams.

5. Emirates NBA Cup

Lakers vs. Spurs

– Fri, Nov. 27 (

Wembanyama and Luka Dončić will be perennial MVP candidates for years to come, one the best defensive players in the league and the other an offensive savant. We’ll hopefully get some playoff matchups between the two at some point, and every Lakers-Spurs game is a potential playoff preview. This one could also determine the winner of West Group C in the Emirates NBA Cup.

6. Wemby looks to leap Cleveland

Cavaliers vs. Spurs

– Tues, Dec. 15 (

8 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock

The Cavs are

the only team

that the Spurs didn’t beat last season and the only team that Wembanyama has yet to beat (he’s 0-3 against them) in his career. Cleveland remains ridiculously talented and this could certainly be a Finals preview.

7. 2026 NBA Finals rematch on Christmas

Spurs vs. Knicks

– Fri, Dec. 25 (

12 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN

The first Finals rematch is the first game on Christmas, a repeat of the noon Christmas game two years ago. This one obviously has more significance, with the Spurs hoping for some measure of revenge after blowing double-digit leads in all four of their losses in the Finals.

The Knicks and Spurs will meet twice in the 2026-27 NBA regular season in rematches of the 2026 NBA Finals: Christmas Day and March 7.

Their Dec. 25 matchup marks the first time in nine years that Christmas Day features a rematch of the previous season’s Finals (CLE at GSW in…

pic.twitter.com/FGlXhrgLRw

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR)

August 13, 2026

8. NBA Paris Game

Pelicans vs. Spurs

– Thurs, Jan. 14 in Paris (

2 p.m. ET, Prime

Wembanyama and the Spurs return to Paris, where

they split two games

with the Indiana Pacers in 2025. The Spurs won three of

their four games

against New Orleans last season, though

all four

were within five points in the last five minutes. The Pelicans were

the only Western Conference team

to outscore San Antonio when Wembanyama was on the floor. He registered a minus-19 in 96 total minutes over three games.

9. Wemby vs. Jokić

Nuggets vs. Spurs

– Sun, Feb. 28 (

1 p.m. ET, ABC

Every matchup between Wembanyama and Nikola Jokić is an event, and the Nuggets have won five of the seven head-to-head meetings thus far, also scoring an amazing

129.2 points per 100 possessions

over the season series last year. If Aaron Gordon is healthy, Denver is the team most likely to prevent a Spurs-Thunder rematch in the Western Conference finals.

10. Wemby vs. Embiid

76ers vs. Spurs

– Thurs, Mar. 11 (

7:30 p.m. ET, Prime

Only Michael Jordan (32.0) has averaged more points per game against the Spurs than Joel Embiid, who’s averaged 30.1 over 14 games against San Antonio. But the Spurs’ win over the Sixers in April was just the third time that Embiid and Wembanyama have faced each other in the NBA, and one of the two stars has played fewer than 16 minutes in two of those three meetings.