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The defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder will welcome Kevin Durant back when he and the Houston Rockets head to the Paycom Center for Opening Night on October 21. Oklahoma City will celebrate the 2025 NBA title, raising its first championship banner in franchise history, while All-Stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and the Thunder each receive its championship rings to kick off the regular season.
As the NBA rolled out its regular-season schedule for the 2025-26 campaign, the Thunder, among a handful of teams, will play the least back-to-back games, 13, to be exact.
With 13 back-to-back games throughout the regular season, the Thunder tied the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Dallas Mavericks, the New York Knicks, the Boston Celtics, the Atlanta Hawks, the Indiana Pacers, and the Chicago Bulls for the fewest back-to-back games. Six of the Thunder's back-to-backs will be broadcast on ESPN, Prime or Peacock, as Oklahoma City, tied with Los Angeles Lakers, the Golden State Warriors, and the Knicks, has 34 nationally televised games.
With 16 back-to-back games scheduled throughout the 2025-26 campaign, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Denver Nuggets, the Phoenix Suns, the Charlotte Hornets, and the Washington Wizards will play the most next season. After Thunder's Opening Night, Oklahoma City will face the Indiana Pacers on the road for an NBA Finals rematch on October 23.
Mayor feared he'd ‘die' before watching Thunder become champion
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt hoped to see the Thunder become champions before his death, which he admitted he wasn't sure which would come first before the 2024-25 campaign. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and the Thunder erased that fear after beating the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, which Holt admits made the moment all the more enjoyable.
“I once said to my kids that ‘I just hope that the Thunder win a title before I die.' And so they have,” Holt said. “Now, I have every intention of enjoying that title the rest of my life. Before there is a time when the confetti gets cleaned up, and we are perhaps to that point. Having said that, I'll still proudly and regularly wear my champagne gear for many months (years?) to come, and we are working on some more permanent remembrances for our city. More on that later.
“And in the NBA tradition, there is still one more special day ahead — and that is our season opener at home in October, when the championship banner will be unveiled at the arena,” Holt concluded.
The Thunder's Opening Night is on October 21.
