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Orlando Magic vs. Thunder preview (Game 51 of 82)

Posted on February 3, 2026 by Alex Roig

Orlando Magic (25-23, 8th in the East) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (39-11, 1st in the West)
When: Tuesday, 03 February 2026 at 7:00pm CST
Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
TV: FDSN-OK
Offensive Rating: ORL: 113.9 (16th) / OKC: 117.9 (4th)
Defensive Rating: ORL: 114.3 (15th) / OKC: 105.8 (1st)
Net Rating: ORL: -0.4 (17th) / OKC: 12.1 (1st)
Current Streaks: ORL: 2-5 in their last 7 games / OKC: 2-3 in their last 5 games

The Set-Up

The days prior to the trade deadline are always filled with equal parts angst, curiosity, and hope. The Oklahoma City Thunder find themselves in a position where they have multiple options. Their most tradeable piece is Ousmane Dieng and his $6.7 million dollar expiring deal. While Lu Dort, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Kenrich Williams also have possible expiring contracts, their importance to this team makes trading them in-season kind of difficult. But this could also be the Thunder’s last opportunity to acquire anything of value before any big deal would need to possibly involve one of the core three. Buckle up…we have two games and a trade deadline in the next three days. Could be fun…or nerve-wracking…or quizzical…or boring.

This is the first of two meetings this season between the Thunder and Magic. Oklahoma City has won that last 4 meetings against Orlando dating back to the 2023-24 season.

Betting Info, presented by FanDuel

Line: OKC -7
O/U: 219.5

Injury Report

OKC

Alex Caruso – Questionable (adductor strain)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Questionable (finger)
Isaiah Hartenstein – Questionable (calf)
Chet Holmgren – Questionable (back)
Ajay Mitchell – OUT (abdominal strain)
Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee/ACL)
Nikola Topic – OUT (cancer treatment)
Jalen Williams – OUT (hamstring)
Jaylin Williams – Questionable (shoulder)

ORL

Colin Castleton – OUT (thumb)
Franz Wagner – OUT (ankle)

Three Big Things

Orlando’s lack of shooting – While the Desmond Bane trade went a long way to provide Orlando with a reliable three-point threat, the Magic, as a collective, still lack consistent outside shooting. They rank 25th in 3-point attempts and 3-point makes and rank 27th in 3-point percentage at 34.3%. In addition, they are also bottom 10 in the same categories for total FG’s made, attempted, and percentage. This plays into the Thunder’s defensive ethos of protecting the paint and running out to shooters on the perimeter.
Sacrificial Game – This may be a sacrificial game for the Thunder. It’s the first night of a home/road back to back. The players who have played most of the season are likely tired and suffering from general soreness (shoutout Jimmy Butler). And the players who have come back from injury recently, such as Isaiah Hartenstein, likely can only play in one of the two back to back games. With that said, the Thunder are 2-0 in games in which Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sits out this season.
Win the turnover battle – Both OKC and Orlando do a good job of, not only protecting the ball (#2 and #7, respectively), but also, getting back on defense when they turn the ball over (OKC is 2nd and ORL is 4th in Opponent Points off Turnovers). Whoever wins the turnover battle, likely has an advantage in how this game goes.

Thunder @ Golden State Warriors preview (Game 22 of 82)

Posted on December 2, 2025 by Alex Roig

Oklahoma City Thunder (20-1, 1st in the West) @ Golden State Warriors (11-10, 8th in the West)
When: Tuesday, 02 December 2025 at 10:00pm CST
Where: Chase Center, San Francisco, CA
Offensive Rating: GSW: 113.0 (23rd) / OKC: 118.9 (5th)
Defensive Rating: GSW: 111.8 (7th) / OKC: 103.6 (1st)
Net Rating: GSW: 1.3 (16th) / OKC: 15.3 (1st)

The Set-Up

Four years ago today, the Oklahoma City Thunder traveled to Memphis to face the Grizzlies, who were going to be without Ja Morant. The Thunder were also going to be without two of their best players in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey. The Grizzlies were favored to win, as the Thunder were in the midst of a rebuild. As they say, there are professionals on both teams. The outcome of the game, though, was anything but professional. The Thunder came out flat, dug themselves in a hole, got tossed some shovels, and kept on digging. To the tune of a record 73-point drubbing, 152-79. SGA, Aaron Wiggins, and Kenrich Williams saw that game from the sidelines. Lu Dort played in that game and was the leading scorer for OKC. Four years later, the Thunder (and those same four players) sit on top of the basketball world with teams scared they may be in the midst of a dynastic run. As Shai’s favorite rapper, Drake, would say, “Started from the bottom, now we’re here…”

This is the 2nd of 4 meetings this season between the Thunder and Warriors. OKC won the first game in resounding fashion, 126-102, in a game that saw Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler combine to score just 23 points on 38% shooting from the field and 17% shooting from 3. For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points and dished out 11 assists, while Chet Holmgren tallied 23 points to go along with 11 rebounds.

Betting Info, presented by FanDuel

Line: OKC -12
O/U: 222.5

Injury Report

OKC

Alex Caruso – OUT (quad)
Lu Dort – OUT (adductor strain)
Isaiah Hartenstein – OUT (calf strain)
Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee/ACL)
Nikola Topic – OUT (cancer treatment)

GSW

Jimmy Butler – Questionable (glute)
Stephen Curry – OUT (quad)
Draymond Green – Probable (foot sprain)
Al Horford – OUT (back)
Trayce Jackson-Davis – Questionable (knee)
De’Anthony Melton – OUT (knee)
Alex Toohey – OUT (knee)

Three Big Things

Causing turnovers – For as great the Warriors have been through the years on the offensive end, their Achilles heel has always been their propensity to commit turnovers. That is no different this season. Golden State turns the ball over 16.2 times a game, which is 5th worst in the league. On the other end of the spectrum, OKC creates the most turnovers and leads the league in points off turnovers.
Three-Point Shooting – If I were to ask who do you think has a higher 3pt percentage between OKC and Golden State, the likely answer would be Golden State. In reality, it’s actually OKC. Not by much, but still, very surprising. The Warriors still lead the league in 3-pointers made per game. With Stephen Curry out, the onus to make threes will fall on Moses Moody (39.2% on 6.6 attempts), Brandin Podziemski (38.6% on 4.8 attempts), and Buddy Hield (30.8% on 4.3 attempts). Hield is having a down year, but can catch fire in an instant.
History in the making – In his last game against the Portland Trailblazers, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander checked back into the game with 5:53 left in the 4th quarter. He had 16 points and was in jeopardy of losing his consecutive game streak of scoring 20 or more points in a game. With 4:18 left, he finally got loose for a difficult 17-foot fallaway jumper. Then with 2:30 left, SGA hit a 14-foot middy, off an assist from Jalen Williams. Whew! Crisis averted. And in sole possession of 2nd place with 93 consecutive games of scoring 20 points or more. The next target is the record of 126 games. And for anyone that wants to talk mess or downplay that consistency, just know that LeBron James currently holds the record for consecutive games scoring at least 10 points or more in NBA history with 1,297 games and counting. And during that time, LeBron has stayed in games while injured just to collect the necessary points to keep the streak going. Even last night, as the Lakers were getting blown out by the Suns, LeBron stayed in the game long enough to notch his 10th point and then was pulled a minute later late in the 4th quarter.

Thunder sign Justin Patton

Posted on August 13, 2019 by Alex Roig

Utah Jazz v Minnesota Timberwolves

According to the team, the Oklahoma City Thunder have signed Justin Patton. The oft-injured center has played in just four NBA games in his two year career.

After being drafted with the 16th pick by the Chicago Bulls (and subsequently traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Jimmy Butler deal) in 2017, Patton broke his left foot prior to summer league. That injury sidelined him for most of the first half of the season. Patton rehabbed with the Timberwolves’ G-League affiliate for much of the second half of the season, averaging 12.7 points and 5.4 rebounds in 23 minutes per game. He made his NBA debut on April 1st, 2018. After that game, the team decided to sideline Patton for the rest of the season. On April 18th, he had another surgery on his left foot to further promote healing on the broken bone.

Patton suffered another set-back last offseason, breaking his right foot. He had surgery on September 18th, 2018, and was sidelined, once again, for much of the first half of the season. On November 12th, Patton was once again packaged with Jimmy Butler in a trade, this time from Minnesota to Philadelphia. Patton appeared in just three games for the 76ers and was waived on April 3rd, 2019.

At his core, Patton is a 7’0″ athletic, rim-running center with the ability to make good passes out of the post. Defensively, his 7’2″ wingspan can be disruptive, but he can also be undisciplined, which leads to him picking up unnecessary fouls.

It is unknown whether this is a guaranteed deal or whether this is a training camp invite type of deal. But this definitely fits in Presti’s “reclamation project” type of swings that he takes on players from time to time.

Topic: Thunder Podcast – The Weekly, Episode 8

Posted on November 19, 2018 by Alex Roig

Topic Thunder On the latest episode of The Weekly, the Topic: Thunder crew discuss the following topics:

Hooking up the TiVo – Recapping the three games last week (vs. Phoenix, vs. NY, @Phoenix)
Discussing the Warriors drama
KD2OKC???? Maybe??? How????
The Jimmy Butler trade
Nerd Alert – Comparing the Thunder players to the different houses on Harry Potter
Thunder Forecast – Looking forward to the Thunder’s next four games (@Sacramento, @Golden State, vs. Charlotte, and vs. Denver)

And more

Thank you for listening to our podcast. You can catch the post-game recaps on the 2018-19 Schedule page on this site and on Thunderous Intentions. You can listen to us anywhere you get your podcasts. Please leave us a 5-star review on Itunes if you would like. That really helps with our ratings on Itunes. Thank you for listening, and as always, Thunder Up!

Topic: Thunder Podcast – The Weekly, Episode 7

Posted on November 11, 2018 by Alex Roig

Topic Thunder On the latest episode of The Weekly, the Topic: Thunder crew discuss the following topics:

Looking at the week that started off streaking, but ended up with a loss at Dallas
Looking forward to this week’s game against three (likely) lotto teams
Comparing this team to last year’s team in relation to how they perform without Westbrook
Player of the Week
Discussing the Jimmy Butler to Philadelphia trade
Discussing the possible ouster of Carmelo Anthony from Houston

And more

ThunderChats Podcast – Jimmy Butler Possibilities

Posted on September 20, 2018 by Dylan Huntzinger

thunder chats On the latest ThunderChats podcast, Dylan looks at the pro and cons of the Thunder acquiring a talent like Jimmy Butler. On the episode, the following items are discussed:

Would an acquisition like this make the Thunder instant title favorites
Are there any red flags
What would it take
Scared Money Don’t Make None
And more

Thank you for listening. If you have any Thunder or NBA related questions, make sure you hit Dylan up on Twitter (@ThunderChats).

Catch the ThunderChats podcast on Anchor and ITunes. Make sure you leave them a 5-star review if you can. And as always, Thunder Up!

Thunder At A Glance – 20 September 2018

Posted on September 20, 2018 by Alex Roig

Erik Horne (NewsOK) on Abdel Nader being used to playing multiple positions: “Instead, it’s keeping Nader as not just the piece it acquired in a trade with Boston for Rodney Purvis, but as a tangible shift to more versatile frontcourt options. Nader’s $1.37 million salary essentially replaces that of 7-footer Dakari Johnson, who was traded to Orlando for Purvis in July.”

Michael Bohlin (247 Sports) looks at possible trade options for Jimmy Butler: “Another team that isn’t on Butler’s reported list of preferred destinations that could ultimately choose to make a run at acquiring a player like Butler, even if it is only as a rental player, would be the Oklahoma City Thunder as this is an approach that they already tried this past season by acquiring Carmelo Anthony.” Continue reading →

Thunder vs. Wolves preview (Game 5 of 82)

Posted on October 27, 2017 by Alex Roig

vs.

When: Friday, 27 October 2017 at 7:00 pm CST
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
TV: NBATV/FSOK
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 930 AM (Spanish))
Line: OKC -1.5 | O/U – 218

A lot has been made about the Big 3 in Oklahoma City. And deservedly so. Anytime you combine a current MVP with two prolific wing scorers, it’s bound to draw a lot of attention. The results after four games can be summed up in three words: Work In Progress.

But lost in all the attention the Big 3 are garnering has been the play of fifth year center, Steven Adams. Four games in, Adams is averaging 13.8 points, 8.5 rebounds (5 on the offensive end!!!!), 2 steals, and 1.75 blocks per game. He’s starting to “call his own number” when he spots a mismatch on offense, and is anchoring a defense that ranks 5th in the league in defensive rating. If those defensive numbers continue, Adams may be in contention for defensive player of the year, a la Marc Gasol in 2013. Continue reading →

Timberwolves vs. Thunder preview (Game 3 of 82)

Posted on October 22, 2017 by Alex Roig

vs.

When: Sunday, 22 October 2017 at 6:00 pm CST
Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK
TV: FSOK
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 930 AM (Spanish))
Line: OKC -4.0 | O/U – 210.5

Six points? Six points for current MVP, Russell Westbrook. Much of the credit needs to go to the Utah defense, who executed a great defensive game plan. But it didn’t much seem like Westbrook was trying to attack the defense, either. He almost looked like he was settling. And the words Westbrook and settling don’t necessarily go together in a sentence.

Westbrook is known for his attacking nature and his ‘never say die’ style of play. But last night, he seemed almost content with passing the ball to Carmelo Anthony and Paul George and letting them shoot the Oklahoma City Thunder out of the rut they were in. The Westbrook from last season would have looked at the Westbrook from last night and wondered ‘what the hell are you doing?’. Continue reading →

Thunder Offseason: Trade Partners and Draft Night

Posted on June 19, 2014 by Alex Roig

The Oklahoma City hold two first round picks in this year’s draft. Their own (No. 29) and Dallas’ first rounder (No. 21) obtained from Houston in the James Harden trade. In a daft and offseason that will be filled with intrigue heading into July 1st, assets are a powerful thing to be in possession of heading into the draft. The Thunder are on the cusp of becoming a championship team, having been in 3 of the last 4 Western Conference Finals and being on the losing end of the 2012 NBA Finals. With most of the core pieces in place, the Thunder may use these assets to get that final piece or two to finally get over the edge.

Assets

Other than the two first round picks in a pretty loaded draft, the Thunder also have the $6.6 million dollar Traded Player Exception (TPE) they obtained from the Kevin Martin sign and trade last season. The TPE can be used to trade for a player without having to add any players in order to make the salaries match. For example, Gerald Henderson of the Charlotte Hornets makes $6 million dollars in salary. If the Thunder wanted to trade for him, they could offer the Hornets their TPE for $6.1 million dollars and a draft pick or the draft rights to one of their Euro-stashes.

In addition to the TPE, the Thunder have 2 players in the final year of their contracts. Kendrick Perkins will be making $9.4 million dollars and Nick Collison will be making $2.2 million dollars next season. In addition, if the Thunder pick up Hasheem Thabeet’s final year, he’ll be making $1.25 million. In the NBA, expiring contracts become valuable because the receiving team can trade away a player (or players) of equal cost, but usually with more time left on their contracts. For example, let’s hypothetically say the Spurs were needing to trade Tiago Splitter to make space for Kawhi Leonard’s upcoming extension. Next season Splitter will be making $9.25 million, but has 2 more years left on his contract after that. The Spurs could hypothetically trade Splitter to the Thunder for Perkins and his expiring contract.

Also, the Thunder have a slew of young players all making under $3 million dollars a season (Reggie Jackson, Jeremy Lamb, Perry Jones, Andre Roberson, and Grant Jerrett) and two valuable Euro-stashes in Tibor Pleiss and Alex Abrines. The inclusion of these players in a deal are usually the things that either make or break a deal.

Targets

With Thabo Sefolosha going into free agency and some of the depth of the team either not coming back (Derek Fisher and Caron Butler) or getting older (Collison), the Thunder will probably be in the market for a starting 2-guard and some veteran depth for the bench. So what are some possible targets for the Thunder?

Mike Dunleavy

With Chicago wanting to try their hand in the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes, the Bulls will have to rid themselves of some salary before even attempting to offer Anthony anything close to a max contract. The Thunder obtained some assets from Miami when they were making their run at LeBron James (and Chris Bosh) in 2010. In that draft, they obtained SG Daequan Cook from Miami and the No. 18 pick for the No. 32 pick. The Bulls will shed some salary by releasing Carlos Boozer via the amnesty clause. But the Bulls will probably need a little more salary shed before they can offer Anthony a max (or very near max) deal. While Dunleavy is a weapon as a 3-point specialist, they probably won’t want to get rid of any of their young (cheap) wings such as Jimmy Butler and Tony Snell. In addition, rumors that Bulls’ Eurostash Nikola Mirotic is ready to join the Bulls may necessitate that the dump even more salary.

The Thunder could target Dunleavy with the TPE, and then try to obtain one of the Bulls’ two first round picks (16 and 19) for the Thunder’s 29th pick. That way, the Bulls shed salary, but still have an asset that allows them to obtain a player in the future, in the form of the TPE. Also, the Bulls trade one of their 1st rounders, but stay in the first round with pick No. 29, albeit at a cheaper price.

Iman Shumpert

At the trade deadline this past season, there were rumors that the Knicks and Thunder were discussing a trade centered around Iman Shumpert and the Thunder’s first round pick. At the time, it was not known whether the Thunder would have a 2nd first round pick. With the season over and the Knicks under new management, it could be a good time to revisit those talks. Depending on how Phil Jackson and coach Derek Fisher view Shumpert could determine whether he is available during the draft.

Arron Afflalo

Probably the most difficult of the trades to do. Difficult, because Afflalo makes $7.6 million, which is too much to fit under the TPE. Unfortunately, the TPE is an all or nothing deal. Either you are able to obtain the player using the TPE or you’re not. TPE’s cannot be used in conjunction with something else in the same transaction. At $7.6 million, the Thunder would have to trade a player or two along with assets such as draft picks or Euro-stashes. So then the question becomes: Do the Thunder view Afflalo as the final piece of the puzzle?

If you follow the history of the Thunder, you know that they trust in their system and their developmental program. Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones will be entering into their 3rd year (or as its called in Thunder lore “The Year”) and Steven Adams will have an another offseason’s worth of training under his belt. So, no, I don’t think they will trade for Afflalo. Players like Shumpert and Dunleavy will take less assets to obtain, so I can definitely see the team going after someone like that.

In an offseason that may feature LeBron, Carmelo, and Bosh as free agents, Kevin Love as a moving target, and a vaunted draft class, you can expect to see plenty of moving parts around the league. With assets in hand, the Thunder may throw their hat into the fray to see what they can come out of it with.