OKC Thunder First Round Playoff Matchup Set Against New Orleans Pelicans

The Oklahoma City Thunder will battle the New Orleans Pelicans in the First Round of the NBA Playoffs.
May 28, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; General view of t-shirts lining the seats before the game
May 28, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; General view of t-shirts lining the seats before the game / Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

The Oklahoma City Thunder (57-25) was able to grab the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, the youngest team to ever do such and had to wait a work week to find out their playoff opponent via the NBA Play-In Tournament.

The Western Conference Play-In started with four options for the Thunder: Pelicans, Kings, Warriors and Lakers. It has been widdled down to one. The New Orleans Pelicans survived the play-in after dropping their first game to the Purple and Gold and were able knock off the Kings to etch their name in the playoffs.

With the Thunder will begin their playoff run on Sunday, April 21 inside the Paycom Center against the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Thunder rattled off a 2-1 record against the New Orleans Pelicans in the regular season with the lone loss being a blown 20-point lead in the Paycom Center back on Nov. 1.

New Orleans Pelicans small-ball big man Larry Nance Jr. was asked about the Thunder following the Pelicans win over the Kings on Friday.

"You do not get to the No. 1 Seed by accident. That is a really good team," Nance said "Youth, Athleticism, Energy they run, run, run....We have a ton of respect for them but respectfully I am betting on the Pels."

The Oklahoma City Thunder will have a day of practice on Saturday to prepare for their first-round opponent.

Check out the full Thunder playoff schedule here.


Want to join the discussion? Like Inside the Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.


Published
Rylan Stiles
RYLAN STILES

Rylan Stiles is a credentialed media member covering the Oklahoma City Thunder. He hosts the Locked On Thunder Podcast, and is Lead Beat Writer for Inside the Thunder. Rylan is also an award-winning play-by-play broadcaster for the Oklahoma Sports Network.