Tag: Oklahoma City Thunder

Unique 2024-25 back-to-back against Nuggets could determine seeding for OKC Thunder

Unique 2024-25 back-to-back against Nuggets could determine seeding for OKC Thunder.

If the Oklahoma City Thunder hope to repeat as the top seed, they will likely need to win tiebreakers if they are required. After all, that’s how the Thunder ultimately won the first seed on the last day of the regular season last year.

With that in mind, a critical back-to-back late in the 2024-25 season could prove vital for OKC’s ambitions of a first seed. The Thunder have 16 back-to-backs this season — tied for the most among playoff squads.

A unique set involves a home back-to-back against the Denver Nuggets. OKC will host them on Mar. 9-10. It’s its only back-to-back where it plays the same team twice in a row.

Considering how late this is into the season, there’s a strong chance that both fanbases will circle these contests on their calendar. As they get closer to the end of the season, standings will matter more.

To add to the uniqueness, the first contest will be held at 12 p.m. CT on ABC. The second will be a standard 7 p.m. CT tip. This means that both squads will get a semi-off day between games. This could benefit either or both sides depending on where the teams stand on the injury front.

Expect the Thunder and Nuggets to be two of the top teams in the Western Conference again this season. They roster MVP candidates in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic.

A potential playoff series could be decided by homecourt — especially considering Denver’s altitude advantage. This back-to-back could be under a microscope and have massive consequences at the end of the year.

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Dates for when Josh Giddey, Bulls will clash with OKC Thunder during 2024-25 season revealed

Dates for when Josh Giddey, Bulls will clash with OKC Thunder during 2024-25 season revealed.

After three seasons, Josh Giddey waved goodbye to OKC earlier this offseason. The 21-year-old declined the chance to come off the bench next season to return to a primary ball-handler role.

The Oklahoma City Thunder shipped Giddey to the Chicago Bulls for Alex Caruso. It’s a move that made sense for both parties after the former had his worst season yet in OKC last year.

The Thunder announced their 2024-25 regular season schedule and their two contests against the Bulls are spread across the seven-month campaign. They will travel to Chicago early in the season on Oct. 26 to face Giddey.

Giddey’s return to OKC won’t happen until deep into the regular season. The Bulls will face the Thunder at Paycom Center on Mar. 31.

This will mark his return since being traded. Expect Giddey to receive loud applause. Even though he asked out and didn’t get a second contract with the Thunder, the 21-year-old was a clear fan favorite during his time in OKC.

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NBA puts Chet Holmgren, Victor Wembanyama in national spotlight during 2024-25 season

NBA puts Chet Holmgren, Victor Wembanyama in national spotlight during 2024-25 season.

Like the previous iteration, expect an old rivalry to be renewed here in the coming years.

After examining the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 2024-25 regular season schedule, it’s painfully obvious how badly the NBA wants the San Antonio Spurs to be their primary foe.

Like Batman to Joker, the league has pushed Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama to the national spotlight all three times they match up this season.

It makes all the sense in the world for the league to push this too. Holmgren and Wembayama were top-two picks in their respective drafts and finished as the top-two last season in Rookie of the Year.

Both seven-footers have similar playstyles as elite paint protectors who can handle and shoot the ball with extraordinary ability. They headline the next generation of versatile centers that will dominate the league for the foreseeable future.

While the Thunder are a title contender and Spurs are in a rebuild, expect the latter to catch up solely from Wembanyama’s ascension as one of the league’s best players.

Playoff clashes feel inevitable between these two titans. But that likely won’t happen next season. Until then, the regular season must be enough to quench the thirst of fans who look forward to this rivalry.

The Thunder and Spurs face off three times next season. The first matchup will be early in the season and broadcast via ESPN on Oct. 30. OKC will be the host.

The second matchup features some stakes as it will be an NBA Cup group game. The Thunder travel to San Antonio on Nov. 19 and will be shown on TNT.

The final contest will be late in the season on Mar. 2. OKC once more travels to the Spurs to take it on in front of an ESPN audience.

Even if neither player publicly acknowledges it, there is a simmering rivalry brewing between Holmgren and Wembanyama. Expect that to be the case for the rest of their careers as they battle it out in the Western Conference.

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OKC Thunder tied for most back-to-backs in 2024-25 season among last year’s playoff squads

OKC Thunder tied for most back-to-backs in 2024-25 season among last year’s playoff squads.

After a first-seed finish last season, the odds are stacked against the Oklahoma City Thunder to repeat that achievement for the 2024-25 regular season.

Examining the 82-game schedule, a large sum of back-to-backs pop out. The Thunder are tied for most back-to-back among playoff teams from last season with 16. An uptick from 14 last year.

The LA Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers and New Orleans Pelicans also have 16 back-to-backs.

This is a killer revelation for the Thunder. Even with their youthful legs, there could be surprising losses caused solely by this scheduling snafu.

The league has tried to decrease the amount of back-to-back in recent years. It’s taken a step back in that goal for the sake of the NBA Cup, which will give most teams a semi-off week in December.

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Jalen Williams questions Lu Dort’s defensive NBA 2K25 rating

Jalen Williams questions Lu Dort’s defensive NBA 2K25 rating.

While his reputation among his peers is strong, Lu Dort continues to be forgotten as among the best defensive players in the league.

The latest example of this involves NBA 2k. This year’s edition is less than a month from release, which means constant promotions will be seen. The NBA 2k account revealed the five highest-rated perimeter defenders and Dort was left out.

Jrue Holiday sits atop at 95, Alex Caruso — Dort’s Oklahoma City Thunder teammate — is at 94, Herb Jones is also a 94, and Jalen Suggs and Derrick White are tied with a 93 rating.

Jalen Williams responded to the social media post and asked where Dort was. Despite being on a title contender last season, the 26-year-old has failed to get national recognition.

That should change soon. As the Thunder enjoy being a title contender, expect Dort to become a household name. This should be soon followed by individual awards like All-Defensive honors.

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Roughly 2 months away, OKC Thunder’s 2024-25 broadcast home remains unknown

Roughly 2 months away, OKC Thunder’s 2024-25 broadcast method remains unknown.

An offseason storyline hidden in the shadows took centerstage when the Oklahoma City Thunder unveiled their 2024-25 regular season schedule.

The Thunder will play 15 of their 82 contests on ESPN, TNT or ABC. The remaining 67 games will be locally broadcast. How exactly fans will be able to tune into those games is still unknown.

The Bally Sports saga continues to play out. It filed for bankruptcy in March 2023. It was reported in Nov. 2023 that the Thunder could leave Bally Sports as soon as this offseason.

During the second half of last season, the Thunder aired their games on local television for free on Fridays. The handful of contests was likely an experimental test run in case OKC needed to find a new home this upcoming season.

That possibility has crept closer to reality. The latest chapter heard talks that Bally Sports might even axe the Thunder if they survive bankruptcy.

The Thunder’s statement about the 2024-25 regular season schedule noted: “Local TV broadcast information will be released at a later date.”

Uncertainty remains on how the Thunder will broadcast their games for next season. Odds are, they stick with the free local broadcast and offer non-local fans a chance to stream online.

But regardless of solutions, the Thunder and Bally Sports must quickly determine their future together. Time is ticking as training camp is less than two months away.

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NBA continues to fail to properly parade OKC Thunder on national stage

NBA continues to fail to properly parade OKC Thunder on national stage.

After examining the NBA’s league-wide schedule for the 2024-24 regular season, one point was further proven — the Oklahoma City Thunder did not get the same treatment as their peers.

Despite being the first seed and advancing to the final eight last year, the Thunder ranked 11th in the league in national television broadcast, excluding NBA TV appearances.

11th? Seriously? For last year’s first seed and second-best overall record manned by the MVP runner-up? To add insult to injury, only three of the Thunder’s 15 national contests will be at OKC.

While the league partially amended its error to leave OKC out for Christmas and Opening Night, it did the bare minimum for the Thunder. A scheduling mishap that can cost them down the road.

The Thunder should be paraded with fellow title contenders next season. After all, they will be a member of that exclusive club for the foreseeable future.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has broken out as one of the best players in the league. Expect the 26-year-old to put up nonchalant 30-plus point performances. Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams will only improve and should flirt with All-Star status next season.

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault is one of the best young minds in the league. GM Sam Presti has built a deep roster filled with young talent and endless potential.

Even considering the small-market tax, the Thunder should’ve been paraded more often this season. A notable bump from last year’s total — the second-best improvement in the league — is only putting perfume on a self-imposed mess.

Among the 10 squads ahead of the Thunder, some are more understandable than others. The Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and New York Knicks will always be the league’s darlings due to their sheer market size and rich history.

The Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks and — to a certain extent — Golden State Warriors are also reasonable. All three franchises roster a single player with cult-like followings with Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and Stephen Curry. They alone are a billion-dollar enterprise.

But the Milwaukee Bucks? Who are fresh off their worst season in recent history and could see the departure of Giannis Antetokounmpo soon? They’re on the downslope.

Or what about the Minnesota Timberwolves? Who are in a similar tier as the Thunder but get more national TV games and featured on the two biggest nights of the regular season?

Gilgeous-Alexander is a better player than Anthony Edwards right now. That should mean the former should enjoy the national spotlight more than the latter next season until proven otherwise.

And finally, what about the Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns? Both were worse than OKC last season and it’s easy to project that the gap grows as time passes.

The NBA has shown its true feelings about the Thunder and it only confirms the chip OKC fans carry on their shoulders when it comes to the lack of national respect they get.

Being late to the party is one thing. Nobody should be upset that the league failed to schedule the Thunder for several national television games last season. Their ascension took everybody by surprise.

But the NBA has had all offseason — and really, nearly a year — to catch up to conventional wisdom about the Thunder. Instead of showing up late with an apologetic pizza to the house party, they flat-out ghosted OKC’s ascension.

It didn’t happen this year, but sooner or later, the league must grit its teeth and treat the Thunder like one of the best teams. Even if it means abandoning their old method of marketing individual players over anything else.

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OKC Thunder announces 2024-25 regular season schedule

OKC Thunder announces 2024-25 regular season schedule.

The NBA announced its 2024-25 regular season schedule on Thursday. This comes two days after it announced its NBA Cup slate for all 30 teams.

The Oklahoma City Thunder hope to have a similar campaign to last year where they finished with the first seed. After a productive offseason, the Thunder are viewed as a title contender.

The Thunder will play 82 games from October to April. The full schedule can be viewed below:

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The Thunder will open the season on the road against the Denver Nuggets on Oct. 24. OKC’s home opener will be against

The Thunder will play 15 nationally televised games on ABC, ESPN and TNT — 25 if NBA TV games are included.

OKC will play 16 back-to-backs this season. Below is a month-by-month breakdown of the Thunder’s regular-season schedule:

  • 4 games in October (2 home, 2 road)
  • 15 games in November (8 home, 7 road)
  • 11 games in December (4 home, 7 road)
  • 14 games in January (7 home, 7 road)
  • 13 games in February (7 home, 6 road)
  • 16 games in March (9 home, 7 road)
  • 7 games in April (3 home, 4 road)

The Thunder’s preseason schedule can be found here.

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Bleacher Report ranks OKC Thunder as 8th-best team in payroll management

Bleacher Report ranks OKC Thunder as 8th-best team in payroll management.

To win an NBA championship usually requires a hefty payroll. It only makes sense as the best players in the league are paid like that for the most part.

As the Oklahoma City Thunder smashed open a championship window last season, expect the payroll to increase over the next few seasons gradually. Impending extensions to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams should put OKC near the top of the league.

Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus ranked all 30 NBA teams’ ownership groups from cheapness to riches when filling out an expensive roster. The Thunder were ranked No. 8 in the league, noting they are smart at what they do.

“The Thunder are another smaller market team willing to spend when appropriate. The team cycled through several stars to try and stay competitive (Paul George, Chris Paul, etc.), paying taxes from 2017 to 2020. As the franchise started over, payroll appropriately dipped.

Oklahoma City is the model of how to quickly rebuild in the NBA, amassing unprecedented draft capital and talent. To maximize future flexibility, the franchise used its cap room to front-load contracts this offseason.”

This is a respectable marker for the Thunder. When it’s time to contend, OKC is willing to go deep into the luxury tax. Expect that to reappear with this current core when the bill comes due.

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Report: OKC Thunder to face Denver Nuggets on road in 2024-25 season opener

Report: OKC Thunder to face Denver Nuggets on road in 2024-25 season opener.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will open their 2024-25 season on the road against the Denver Nuggets, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania. The contest tips off on Thursday, Oct. 24 on TNT.

It will be a matchup of two of the top teams in the Western Conference. Both were the top two seeds last season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic are expected to be loud participants in the MVP conversation next season.

After a first-seed finish last season, expect the Thunder to be a title contender for the foreseeable future. This means more exposure on the national stage with contests at TNT and ESPN.

OKC’s season opener being on national television is a strong sign they’ll be a frequent guest at that level.

The Thunder’s full 2024-25 regular season will be unveiled on Thursday, Aug. 15. Part of it has already been announced via the NBA Cup group schedule.

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