The Thunder are in the midst of Summer League action. While the regular season is still a couple of months away, the offseason moves are just about done. Most NBA teams have finalized their rosters and are gearing up for next season. However, since the Thunder won the NBA championship, they will be the team that gets to play on opening night.
While the schedule won’t be released until later, it’s always fun to speculate which teams should play on opening night. Let’s rank the four best options for the Thunder to face when the 2025-26 season begins.
Who Should The Thunder Play on Opening Night?
4. San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are a pretty good option for the Thunder to face. This was a matchup the NBA was already trying to focus on last year by making all their matchups nationally televised games. In addition, there is history between these teams as they had a rivalry in the early 2010s during the Russell Westbrook–Kevin Durant era. Trying to recapture that rivalry could be what the NBA hopes to accomplish by pitting them against each other to begin the season. However, the main reason for this team to face the Thunder is the matchup between Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren.
Holmgren entered the league a year before Victor but sat out his entire rookie season due to injury. Since that happened, Holmgren’s rookie year was intertwined with Victor’s, and their careers will forever be tied together. They are both the same type of player: skinny, tall unicorns who can shoot, dribble, and protect the rim. The NBA focusing on this rivalry could be essential for them moving forward, and having them play opening night will be a step towards that goal.
3. Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are another great option for the Thunder to play. The Rockets are a young and up-and-coming team, just like the Thunder, and they made some noise last year as a second seed. They essentially build their team identical to the Thunder’s path by emphasizing the draft and building within while making strategic trades to push them to the next level. By pitting these two teams against each other on opening night, the NBA can emphasize two teams that have constructed their rosters in correct and unique ways.
Finally, the main reason would be the Rockets’ new addition of Kevin Durant. This just makes the matchup even more enticing given the history between the Thunder and Durant. In addition, making Durant watch the team he gave up on receive their rings would be a great storyline to have on opening day.
2. Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves are next up, and it would be a rematch of the Western Conference Finals. This is big enough of a storyline in itself to earn the right for a great opening night matchup. However, it goes more in-depth than just a rematch. The Timberwolves have a young superstar with Anthony Edwards, a player who the NBA wants to be the next face of the league. In addition, you have the Thunder with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has the accolades to earn that title. The NBA has a chance to emphasize this rivalry that is brewing and highlight two of its best young stars. In addition, both of these teams match up well with one another, and the chances of it being a great, entertaining game will be high.
1. Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets would be the Thunder’s best opening night opponent for several reasons. The first is that these two teams played each other to open up their seasons last year, so there is already familiarity there. They also played a highly entertaining playoff series this year, where the series came down to Game 7. The NBA has a great opportunity to capitalize on that postseason meeting.
The third reason is the matchup between arguably the two best players in the NBA: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic, who are also the last two MVP winners. The final reason is that the Nuggets made some big moves in the offseason and have positioned themselves as arguably the biggest threat to the Thunder next year. This game could be a preview for the Western Conference Finals.
The Last Word on the Thunder’s Opening Night Matchup
There are other great options for the Thunder to play on opening night that were unable to make the list. Teams like the Dallas Mavericks, the Indiana Pacers (a Finals rematch), and the Los Angeles Lakers. However, these four are the best options for the Thunder to face at the start of next season, with the Denver Nuggets holding the strongest case.
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