Oklahoma City Lands Spot on NBA's 'Can't Miss' Games of 2023-24

The Thunder's national spotlight has picked up immensely this summer, and will continue to across the next season.

Oklahoma City has much deserved hype behind a young, rising team in 2023-24. The Thunder have avoided national spotlight over the last few years, getting televised games once in a blue moon, and mostly when the attention was on Oklahoma City’s opponent.

Now that people have started to notice the budding talent in OKC, the national attention has started to pick up. For years, the Thunder had a team considered to be must-see TV. The team was competitive year in and year out, with many stars passing through the city in Thunder jerseys. Now, after a quick rebuild, the team is back and ready for contention on the horizon.

Recently, NBA.com published a list of 20 can’t-miss league pass games ahead of the 2023-24 season, and over the course of the last three Thunder seasons, it would’ve been a pipe dream to see OKC’s squad listed. But the Thunder made an appearance, further signifying the excitement around one of the youngest squads in the NBA.

Oklahoma City’s battle versus Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs on Feb. 29 was listed as a can’t miss game during the NBA’s second half. There’s lots of layers to this new Thunder-Spurs rivalry, but perhaps none bigger than the Wembanyama vs. Chet Holmgren matchup.

“Celebrate leap day with two teams looking to make a leap behind rookie big men – Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren, who missed all of the 2022-23 with a foot injury after being selected No. 2 overall, and San Antonio’s Wembanyama,” the NBA’s website reads. “This will be the third meeting of the season between the two players tabbed as Kia Rookie of the Year favorites.”

The Thunder will be back in the spotlight like the old days this year, appearing in 13 nationally televised games over the course of the season. The last few years, Oklahoma City had to fight for one or two, but it appears those days are over.

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