A season of high expectations
The Oklahoma City Thunder enters the 2025-26 season as the deepest and most talented team in the NBA. After back-to-back year as the top seeds in the West, the expectations are towering for a third straight run. Yet even the best teams face challenges, and four games stand out as potential stumbling blocks for the ruling champions.
The first tricky place comes on February 4, when the Thunder visits the San Antonio Spurs on the second night of a back-to-back. After a home game, the team travels with the Orlando magie and adds fatigue to the comparison. Both the traces and the magical contain aggressive defenses, and this matchup could serve as a measuring stick match for two teams fighting for play-off positioning.
The collision of the late season with the clippers on April 8 also looms up. By that time, the classification of the Western Conference are probably tight, with sowing at stake. The clippers could fight to prevent you from sliding into the playing range, while the Thunder may still haunt the best record of the competition. To make it more difficult, the game is on the second night of a back-to-back after a controversial fight against the Lakers.
The first confrontation of Oklahoma City with LeBron James and the Lakers will be home on November 12. Although it helps that it is part of a home house back-to-back, the challenge cannot be denied. The night before, OKC is opposed to Golden State, which still contains Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Drayond Green and Luka Dončić. Faced with successive contenders even the deepest grid within 48 hours.
The last game to watch is 12 February against the Bucks. On paper, Milwaukee looks less dangerous, with Giannis Antetokounmpo that leads a thin grid that now includes Myles Turner. Yet the timing is brutal: the Thunder travels from Phoenix on the second night of a back-to-back, with the All-Star break at less than 24 hours. Staying focus for a rest of a week will be difficult.
Final word
The Thunder remains favorites to repeat as champions, but no schedule is without falling. How to navigate them through these four games can help to define their regular season.
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