Mark Daigneault’s “not complicated” look at how OKC limited Victor Vembanyama

OKLAHOMA CITY — Head coach Mark Daigneault and the Oklahoma City Thunder had a lot of work to do in preparation for the takedown Victor Vembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs for the first time this season. Vembanjama and The Spurs entered the Pejkom Center with three wins under their belts, as Daigneault and the Thunder used the time between Christmas Day and Tuesday night to prepare.

Oklahoma City extended its winning streak against the Spurs, defeating them 119-98. After a game in which Vembanyama finished with 17 points on 7-for-15 shooting, Daigneault talked about how the Thunder adjusted to contain the 7-foot-6 phenom, who returned to the starting lineup for the first time against the defending champions.

“We haven’t played him a lot. Part of learning the league is learning really good players — he’s obviously a really good player. I thought the last time we played him we were a little nervous against him,” Daigneault said. “We were like trying to get steals in the post instead of just trusting our fundamentals and team defense. I thought we did a better job tonight trusting our fundamentals.

“It’s not complicated even against the best players. We’ve played against Doncic in a playoff series, Jokic in a playoff series, Edwards in a playoff series; all those guys — it’s back to the basics. There’s really no secret sauce. So we just had to learn how to apply it to this team, and I thought we took a step forward, to wrap it up by tonight.

In Victor Wembanyama’s first game against Mark Daigne and the Thunder, where he wasn’t on a minutes limit, Oklahoma City turned on the Spurs’ offensive attack after halftime, with OKC outscoring its opponent 40-24 before the final frame. The Thunder held the Spurs at bay throughout the fourth quarter before finishing the night with a 21-point victory at home.

The Thunder improved their league-leading record to 34-7, while the Spurs, tied with the Denver Nuggets for second in the Western Conference, fell to 27-13.

Jaylen Williams on the Thunder beating the Spurs

Thunder All-Star Jaylen Williams says the Spurs make them better. Win or lose, Williams says Victor Wembanyama and Spurs help the defending champions sharpen their swordso to speak, resulting in Mark Daign and the Thunder winning for the first time in four tries.

“They make us a better team when we play them — win or lose — we have to play the right way every time we play them,” Williams said. “And that forces us to have to do other things to win. We were able to do that tonight. When you play teams like that, you just have to pay attention to the details throughout the game. Otherwise, the game will kind of get out of hand, and that was the case here.”

Williams and the Thunder have learned from their mistakes.

“The last time we played them in San Antonio, we did it well in the first half and then we had a stretch where we didn’t do it well,” Williams added. “And then it kind of got away. We were able to kind of nip it in the bud.”

Jaylen Williams on beating Spurs after three losses this season: “They make us a better team when we play them – win or lose – we have to play the right way every time we play them

And that makes us do other things to win” pic.twitter.com/OVZ7VBil3k

— Joshua Pavon (@joe_svai) January 14, 2026

The Thunder will face the Rockets on the road on Thursday.