OKC Thunder Must Navigate West-Heavy Slate to Begin Next Season

The Thunder will have important early games against teams they will be fighting against in the standings.

Dec 16, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) drives against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Isaiah Joe (11) and forward Chet Holmgren (7) in the second half at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Thunder can not afford to start slow next season with their early slate.

Oklahoma City will tip off the 2024-25 campaign with a game in Denver against the 2023 NBA champions. The Thunder will follow that with a back-to-back against the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks on the first weekend of the season. 

Although the Thunder will play two of its first three games against teams from the East, it will then play only two of its following 22 contests against the East. Not only will the Thunder’s slate through mid-December feature almost exclusively West teams, but it will also include matchups that will be significant for playoff seeding. 

Including matchups against 2024’s No. 2 seed Denver Nuggets and West champions Dallas Mavericks, the Thunder will play at least 12 West teams that made the postseason before the NBA Cup ends. For reference, the Thunder had only nine such matchups scheduled going into last season.

Along with that, the Thunder have two opponents it does not know yet due to the NBA Cup. If the Thunder don't qualify for the knockout rounds, they would play a fourth game against two of the Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings.

Oklahoma City enters next season as a championship contender and the favorite to come out of the West. The team will not back down from its challenging early schedule, and it is uniquely built to weather that storm.

Still one of the youngest teams in the league, the Thunder made a couple of key additions that should fit in rather seamlessly. With the overall continuity carrying over from last season’s 57-win team, the Thunder could be in a position to claim the top seed early, especially with three of the West’s top five teams in 2024 losing starters in the offseasons.

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