Tag: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

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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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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Bleacher Report argues OKC Thunder might be most complete team

Bleacher Report argues OKC Thunder might be most complete team.

Discourses around sports are usually talked through a pessimistic lens. Most fans hope their rivals suffer a downfall throughout the NBA regular season.

Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale took the opposite approach. He listed out one reason to not overlook all 30 NBA teams next season.

Considering how successful the Oklahoma City Thunder have been recently, it was an easy layup to come up for a reason. If anything, Favale might’ve struggled to pick just one out of several possible good answers for this thought exercise.

The Thunder’s sole reason is that they might be the most complete team in the league. The additions of Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstain paired with the natural progression of the rest of the roster is an exciting roster that should threaten to be the first seed once again.

“What’s the weakness in that rotation? Hartenstein takes care of the size, physicality and rebounding concerns from last season. Caruso puts a deadeye modest-volume shooter defenses will actually respect in the Josh Giddey spot.

Secondary creation could be a little prickly. We saw that haunt Oklahoma City during the playoffs, where Jalen Williams couldn’t really get going. Neither Caruso nor Hartenstein fills that void.

Somebody else will. And it’ll probably be J-Dub himself. He has already increased his self-creation and is going to get better. So will Chet Holmgren, who’s own role should broaden with a less ball-dominant running mate in Giddey’s stead. Wiggins can generate hoops for himself and others. Wallace will get better.

The Thunder also have the assets to consolidate or reorient their pecking order. Assuming they need it. Which they may not. Because they’re that good—that complete.”

Over the last few years, the Thunder have built up a strong foundation brick by brick. Last season saw the fruits of that labor with a top-seed finish and tough second-round exit. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander established himself as one of the best players in the league.

Expect the Thunder to be a mainstay in the title conversation for the foreseeable future. Nobody else in the league is best set up to contend both in the short-term and long-term future.

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Should the OKC Thunder chase after the 2024 NBA Cup?

Should the OKC Thunder chase after the 2024 NBA Cup?

To make the early portions of the regular season interesting, the league has added the NBA Cup. Last season saw the inaugural in-season tournament succeed with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers taking it seriously.

Many wondered how ambitious teams would be for the tournament. The winner received solely monetary gain before they returned to the rest of their regular season schedule.

For the league to see arguably the greatest player ever and their biggest franchise win it the first year must’ve provided a massive boost of confidence. Now it’s about building off that momentum.

This upcoming season hopes to see similar results as NBA Commissioner Adam Silver tries to weave the NBA Cup into the regular season tradition.

Fans have hesitated about the idea, mocking it as a meaningless trophy with no enjoyable rewards. However, as each season passes, the NBA Cup will become the norm for future generations.

To further legitimize the controversial NBA Cup, the Oklahoma City Thunder capturing the December crown can help.

The Thunder will be a title contender for the foreseeable future. The formation of their trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams is enough for several deep playoff runs barring health.

If the Thunder are next season’s NBA Cup winner, it could be a symbolic passing of the torch from James to Gilgeous-Alexander as one of the league’s faces.

The league should be excited about the possibility. OKC will be a fixture in the contender scene and pundits could point towards its win of the NBA Cup as a reason for its success later on down the road in the playoffs.

For the Thunder, an NBA Cup could help curry favor for future seasons. They were notably left off the slate for Opening Night and Christmas — the league’s two biggest regular-season days.

Boasting an NBA Cup championship should ensure that doesn’t happen again as long as the Thunder are in this title window. It’d be a beneficial success for both sides which goes beyond the extra cash all 18 Thunder players would receive in this scenario.

Now, with the motivation laid out, how realistic is it for the Thunder to win the 2024 NBA Cup?

They have one of the best odds to win it. That’s also considering the likelihood the Thunder treat the Group B games as the average regular season outing. Even if OKC doesn’t trim its rotation like a playoff contest, the roster is good enough to be a serious threat.

They are the first seed in the West’s Group B. Examing their competition of the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz, OKC should be the favorite to capture first place in group play and advance to the eight-team knockout stage.

The Lakers have already won the tournament, which means a lack of motivation to repeat might exist. James and Anthony Davis will likely pace themselves during the regular season. They won’t go all out for a November or December contest.

The Suns are in a similar situation. Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal hope to cruise through the regular season to be as healthy as possible by the playoffs. They won’t go 100 miles an hour at the start of the season.

The Jazz are in a rebuild. They hope to lose as many games as possible. Expect Utah to be a favorite to land Cooper Flagg in the 2025 NBA draft. This should be an easy win for the Thunder and gives them a chance to boost their point differential.

That leaves the Spurs, who will arguably be the toughest squad to face in group play for the Thunder. Like OKC, San Antonio is young and hungry. Victor Wembanyama will chase after the NBA Cup as an early-career accolade.

A Wembanyama-Holmgren matchup by itself is juicy enough, add in the stakes of the NBA Cup and it should increase those sparks.

Even with that considered, the Thunder are simply better than the Spurs. The latter added some nice veteran pieces but is still far from challenging OKC at the top of the Western Conference.

If the Thunder advance past the group stage, they have as good odds as anybody else to capture the NBA Cup. The league should cross its fingers and hope OKC takes it seriously enough to win.

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OKC Thunder 2024-25 regular season schedule to be released on Thursday

OKC Thunder 2024-25 regular season schedule to be released on Thursday.

With less than two months until training camp starts, the Oklahoma City Thunder announced their 2024-25 regular season schedule will be released on Thursday.

A handful of contests have already been revealed thanks to the 2024 NBA Cup that spans from November to December. OKC’s preseason slate kicks off on Oct. 7.

After a first-seed finish last year, the Thunder hope to build off their strong campaign with another shot at a deep playoff run and a chance to win an NBA championship.

OKC has one of the league’s best trios in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams. Expect it to be part of several national television broadcasts for the foreseeable future.

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NBA schedule exposes league’s favoritism of Anthony Edwards over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

NBA schedule exposes league’s favoritism of Anthony Edwards over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Here’s why that’s a mistake:

As the NBA’s 2023-24 regular season schedule slowly leaks, there’s been one common takeaway — the Oklahoma City Thunder have been snubbed harder than any other team in the league.

After a first-seed finish last season, it’d be easy to think the Thunder would be a frequent visitor on primetime slots. They have the star appeal and will be a title contender for the foreseeable future. Why wouldn’t the league boost their visibility?

Instead, OKC won’t be featured in either Opening Night or Christmas — the two most popular days of the league’s grueling seven-month campaign.

This feels like a shortsighted mistake.

Whether the league likes it or not, the Thunder will be a staple in the playoff picture for the rest of the decade. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams all are 26 years or younger. OKC was the youngest top-seed in league history last year.

Barring the unforeseen, the Thunder will be a constant 50-plus win squad for the next five-plus years. The same can’t be said about one specific team slotted to play on both nights — the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Looking at the schedules for both Opening Night and Christmas, the NBA has made a conscious decision to market Anthony Edwards over Gilgeous-Alexander. The Timberwolves will play on both nights while the Thunder on none.

Like Nickelodeon picking Victoria Justice over Ariana Grande, the NBA has hitched its wagon to the wrong horse.

Both teams had similar seasons last year. The Thunder captured the first seed and made it to the second round while the Timberwolves made it to the Western Conference Finals but lost in five games.

Both franchises are also in small markets. Unlike other teams, OKC and Minnesota won’t be gifted the national spotlight unless deemed worthy.

This means the tiebreaker likely came down to who the league thinks is more marketable between Edwards and Gilgeous-Alexander. This wouldn’t be the first time both players have been pitted against each other. They’re on similar trajectories, so comparisons have only naturally followed suit.

As of now, Gilgeous-Alexander is the clearcut better player. He’s had back-to-back top-five MVP finishes and headlines the Thunder. Meanwhile, Edwards has had a solid start to his career. The 23-year-old has made two straight All-Star appearances and was part of Team USA’s gold finish this summer.

But Minnesota’s success last season wasn’t mainly because of Edwards’ rise — unlike OKC’s with Gilgeous-Alexander. Sure, he was its top scorer but the Timberwolves rode an elite defense manned by Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert to their best season in two decades.

With that said though, pure production isn’t the sole factor involved in these decisions. Off-court personality and charisma also matter. As badly as Gilgeous-Alexander beats Edwards on the court, the latter equally dominates the former off it.

There’s no question Edwards does a better job in a press conference setting. He is unapologetically himself and offers blunt truths covered in witty one-liners.

Meanwhile, Gilgeous-Alexander’s calm demeanor on the court reflects his personality. He is Mr. Calm, cool and collected. Always precise with his words. Never in a hurry.

Rarely does a quote from Gilgeous-Alexander make the airwaves on ESPN or take over Twitter. For Edwards, that’s a normal Tuesday.

Even though Edwards might be the sexier choice, Gilgeous-Alexander is the safer choice that should also be propelled up. The 26-year-old should be featured on at least one of the league’s two busy nights.

To be ignored for both exposes the league’s shortcomings. There should be a healthy balance but the NBA has put all its eggs in one basket with Edwards. If the NBA insists on living by that mindset and refuses to adapt, Gilgeous-Alexander is the better choice.

He’s one of the best players in the league and has had historically efficient 30-plus point seasons these last two years. Maybe Edwards reaches those heights in the future, but that shouldn’t factor into who plays on Opening Night or Christmas during these next few months.

The 2024-25 NBA schedule should be about showcasing the best players in the league right now. That’s Gilgeous-Alexander in this scenario. Edwards has the tools to reach that status but hasn’t yet. The league prioritizing the young, rising star over an MVP candidate in the middle of his prime is a colossal mistake that was avoidable.

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander named on 2024 Olympics All-Second Team

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander named on 2024 Olympics All-Second Team.

As Team USA brought home gold for the fifth straight time, the 2024 Olympics wrapped up with an intense final contest that featured the host country France.

After USA’s win, FIBA announced its award winners for the summer event. On the All-Star Five squad, Stephen Curry, Dennis Schroder, LeBron James, Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokic were listed on the lineup.

One notable absence was the Oklahoma City Thunder’s franchise player. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander failed to make the first team as Canada had a quick exit in the quarterfinals against France.

The All-Second Team featured Gilgeous-Alexander, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Franz Wagner and Guerschon Yabusele.

It’s a respectable finish for Gilgeous-Alexander. Even though he was among the best individual performers in the international tournament, Canada’s upset loss likely dock points for him.

The 26-year-old returns to OKC to prepare for the 2024-25 season. Over the last two years, he’s proven that his NBA dominance translates to the international stage.

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Steven Adams predicts who’d win contest between old and current Thunder squads

Steven Adams predicts who’d win contest between old and current Thunder squads.

If an Oklahoma City Thunder invented a time machine, an item on their bucket list might’ve been written in thanks to Steven Adams.

The 31-year-old appeared on “The Morning Shift” podcast. One of the topics discussed was how he thinks a hypothetical contest will play out between the old Thunder and current Thunder squads.

Adams was a key piece in the Thunder’s first iteration. He served as a starter from 2013-20. He was a quality role player who fit in well with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who headlined one of the best teams in the 2010s.

Adams believes his iteration of the Thunder would hold their own against the current iteration. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams led OKC to the youngest first seed in league history last season.

“I reckon we would do pretty well but they’re still young,” Adams said. “So, like, KD, Russ — they’re like animals. They’ve already came into their own when I got there.”

Seeing Adams pick his team in this fun imaginary matchup is not a shocker. The Thunder have enjoyed a pair of successful cores in their short history in OKC.

Even with his selection, Adams is a believer in the current Thunder. It’s easy to see that considering the amount of success they’ve already had and the type of offseason they endured.

“This new OKC team, I think they’re still growing,” Adams said. “They’ve still got time. It’s a very young team. Shai’s a beast, he’s nice. Lu Dort is still an animal.”

Adams will have a chance to square off against the Thunder this season on the Houston Rockets. He missed all of last season from knee surgery.

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Should OKC Thunder fans root for Team USA or France?

Should OKC Thunder fans root for Team USA or France?

As the international tournament dwindles to two teams, the 2024 Olympics will conclude with a gold medal winner between either Team USA or France.

Canada failed to reach this stage after an upset loss to France in the quarterfinals. Its struggles to score outside of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led to its downfall.

Oklahoma City Thunder fans were likely split in their allegiances throughout the summer. Sure, most who lived locally likely cheered on the USA for obvious reasons, but Canada became the unofficial second squad to root for.

Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort were starters for Canada. Both have been fixtures in OKC since 2019. It’s only normal for Thunder fans to root for their neighbors up north.

Considering the USA and Canada never matched up in group play and were on opposite sides of the bracket, being a double fan was easier for the Thunder faithful.

But heading into the knockout stage, it felt like a collision course between the USA and Canada was within the realm of possibility. Both went a perfect 3-0 in group play and were arguably the two best squads of the 2024 Olympics.

Gilgeous-Alexander talked about the possibility and sounded excited. He said it would’ve been a fun matchup and could stress test how far Canada’s program has progressed after historically struggling.

Instead, Canada fell in the opening round while the USA advanced to the championship contest against host country France.

Entering the semifinals post-Canada exit, the reasons to root for the USA are obvious. It represents this country and has been the most dominant program in basketball history. It’s only patriotic to hope LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry bring home the gold in their likely final run together at this stage.

But should Thunder fans consider playing devil’s advocate and root for France to make Canada’s loss look a bit prettier? It may be tempting, but the answer is probably not.

The sole reason Thunder fans followed Canada’s journey was Gilgeous-Alexander and Dort. Neither was assigned blame for its early exit against France.

Gilgeous-Alexander was phenomenal throughout the 2024 Olympics and graded out as one of the best players. Dort helped Canada overcome a disastrous run by Jamal Murray, who looked like a shell of his former self.

Canada’s early demise had more to do with the rest of the roster than those two. Its inability to have other scorers and true centers reared its ugly head in the final moments of its loss to France.

Thunder fans can root for whoever they want in this USA vs. France contest. Policing fandoms is unnecessary and sucks the joy out of sports. It should be an exciting matchup with compelling storylines. Can the former cap off a dominant run? Can the latter pull off the massive upset in its home crowd?

Either way, the result will not affect how productive the individual Olympic runs were for the Thunder’s Gilgeous-Alexander and Dort.

Despite the premature finish, it was a step in the right direction for Canada’s ambitions. Both should be back at this stage in 2028.

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander discusses Team USA, possible rematch with Canada in 2024 Olympics

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander discusses Team USA, possible rematch with Canada in 2024 Olympics.

As Canada awaits its opponent for the knockout stage of the 2024 Olympics, the possibility of a tournament matchup against the United States increased after a sweep in group play.

Canada entered the 2024 Olympics as one of the best squads. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s ascension into one of the best players in the league has headlined its program.

With that said though, the USA is the heavy favorite to win gold. It has the deepest roster and is headlined by several multi-time All-Star players. It’s been the most dominant squad in group play.

The 26-year-old talked about the USA and the challenges it brings. Depending on how the bracket shakes out, there’s a good chance Canada faces off against it for the third time in the last calendar year.

During halftime between the USA and Puerto Rico, Gilgeous-Alexander discussed the possible rematch with NBC’s Mike Tirico.

“They play to their strengths. They’re obviously very talented, very deep,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “You almost have to make no mistakes and play a perfect game when you play against them… As far as Canada, we’ll be ready for whoever we see.”

Canada hopes to win the international tournament as an underdog. It will likely need to slay the USA for that to happen. Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t afraid of that challenge.

“We come here to play against the best talent and best team in the world and they’re at the top of it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on the possibility. “So of course it’d be fun.”

Minus the USA, Canada has the largest assortment of NBA players on its roster. All five starters and its top bench players are in the league. It’d be a fun rematch from last year’s FIBA World Cup.

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