The start of the 2023-24 NBA season is roughly a month away, but teams around the league still have plenty of big moves to make. Whether it be evaluating potential trades or making tough roster decisions, quite a few franchises have change on the horizon.
One of these teams is the Oklahoma City Thunder, who is set to enter training camp several players over the 15-man limit, meaning trades or cuts are incoming.
Beyond camp, a very promising season is ahead for Oklahoma City. Following a 40-win campaign, the roster is now even more competitive and appears ready to make a potential playoff push. Not only will the Thunder have several key rookies in Chet Holmgren, Cason Wallace and Vasilije Micic set to take the floor for the first time, but the existing young pieces will also have the chance to take another step forward following a full offseason.
It’s never a guarantee that a team’s progression is linear following a successful offseason, but all signs point to an exciting season ahead in OKC. Over the course of the upcoming 82-game regular season, what are some of the key milestones for the Thunder?
Oct. 25: Opening Night
Oklahoma City will kick off its season against the Bulls in Chicago. This will be the highly anticipated debut of Holmgren, who will kick off his NBA career against a strong center in Nikola Vucevic.
The Bulls and Thunder finished with identical records last season, so this should be a quality matchup. Although it’s just one game, the opener can really set the tone for the early part of the season.
This matchup will also provide an opportunity for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to make a statement as one of the best guards in the NBA again. He’ll go head-to-head with Zach LaVine, who will look to do the same.
Nov. 10: G League Season Begins
Even if Oklahoma City is a team projected to make the postseason once again, it’s no secret several of the young players on the roster will spend time in the G League. The franchise doesn’t view this as a demotion, but rather an opportunity to get more minutes and play an increased role.
In the early part of November, don’t be surprised to see a handful of players begin to play for the OKC Blue. This will likely include more than just rookies could even mean rotational pieces aren’t with the Thunder on road trips. As such, expect the OKC roster to be somewhat thin until the end of the 2023 NBA G League Winter Showcase just before Christmas.
Nov. 14: Holmgren vs Wembanyama
In what is one of the most anticipated individual matchups of the season, Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs will be in Oklahoma City in November, which means he’ll go head-to-head with Holmgren.
Two versatile 7-footers, this will be the first of many battles between players that project to be franchise cornerstones in their respective cities. On both ends of the floor, Wembanyama and Holmgren have the ability to change the game, even as rookies.
This will be a nationally televised game that will have fans all around the world tuning in. While winning is all that matters, both of these individuals will look to have big games against one another in this contest.
Dec. 31: New Year’s Eve Tradition
For the 16th consecutive season, the Thunder will play on New Year’s Eve, with the Brooklyn Nets set to be this year’s matchup in OKC. Last season, this was a pivotal point in the season for the team.
The turn of the calendar year was when Oklahoma City really started to hit its stride. Especially for a young team, this is around the time in which enough games have been played for chemistry to develop and rotations to be more formalized.
Jan. 24: NBA Rivals Week
In what has become a staple of the NBA’s regular season, classic and budding rivalries between teams and players will take center stage for the second annual NBA Rivals Week. This is a week that features 11 nationally televised games across four networks over five days from Jan. 23-27.
Oklahoma City is part of NBA Rivals Week this season, with a matchup against the San Antonio Spurs. Dating back to the Thunder’s existence in OKC, these two teams have almost always been extremely competitive and have played each other several times in the postseason.
As both San Antonio and Oklahoma City enter a new era, this will be yet another fascinating matchup.
Feb. 8: NBA Trade Deadline
The Thunder has never been a big buyer at trade deadlines of the past, but this will still be a significant milestone in the upcoming season. Whether it’s Oklahoma City that makes moves, or the teams they’re competing with in the West, this date will almost certainly impact the season overall for them.
Furthermore, with the amount of future draft capital OKC has and potential expiring deals to move, it wouldn’t be all that surprising if this was the year Thunder GM Sam Presti at least makes a marginal trade to improve the roster.
Feb. 16-21: NBA All-Star Break
After making his NBA All-Star debut last season, anything less than another nod would be disappointing for Gilgeous-Alexander. Furthermore, depending on how well the Thunder is playing at this point and how big of a leap Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams take, OKC could be looking at a second All-Star in the mix.
Even outside of the marquee Sunday night event, the Thunder has several other players that could be traveling to Indianapolis for 2024 All-Star Weekend. Whether it’s Isaiah Joe in the 3-point contest, Chet Holmgren in the Rising Stars Challenge or another player representing the Thunder in some capacity, this is always a good time for teams to reset before making a final push.
April 14: End of Regular Season
In the Thunder’s final game of the season, the Dallas Mavericks will in Oklahoma City. There’s always a chance that final standings are cemented like last season and the final contest of the year has no significance for the Thunder, but playing a Western Conference team with a similar outlook could shape up to be huge.
There’s a real chance that this game could decide the fate of both the Thunder and Mavs, which could mean Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic going head-to-head in a high stakes situation.
The Thunder has what it takes to really emerge as one of the top teams in the Western Conference this season. With that in mind, these key milestones highlight what should be an interesting 2023-24 campaign.
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