The Thunder and the Play-In Tournament

Posted on April 14, 2026 by Alex Roig

There is, of course, an obvious connection to the Play-In Tournament and the Oklahoma City Thunder. As the No.1 seed in the Western Conference, the Thunder will face the winner of the second Western Conference play-in game that will take place on Friday, April 17th. One of the Trailblazers, the Suns, the Clippers, or the Warriors will be the first step in the Thunder’s quest to be the first repeat champion in eight seasons. A collection of teams the Thunder went a combined 13-3 against.

But Oklahoma City may have ulterior motives in their viewership of the Play-In Tournament. Depending on how things shake out, OKC has the possibility of netting up to two lottery picks in what is considered by many to be a stacked 2026 NBA Draft. They own an unprotected Clippers’ first round pick from the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander deal. Yes, seven years later, that deal is still the gift that keeps on giving. They also own a top-4 protected first round pick from the Philadelphia 76ers. That pick came via the trade that sent Al Horford to Philly at the beginning of the Thunder’s rebuild in 2020. For a team that just finished with the best record in the league and is a championship contender, getting even one lottery pick in a draft like this is a nightmare for the rest of the association.

What’s even scarier, is that something like this already happened to the Thunder a couple of years ago. In the 2022 Play-In Tournament, the Clippers came into that as the 8th seed. In the 7/8 game, they went on the road and played the Minnesota Timberwolves. They ended up losing that game, 109-104, as Patrick Beverly celebrated in front of the Minnesota crowd like he had won the MVP, Finals, Finals MVP, and a billion dollar lottery all in one felled swoop. The loss didn’t eliminate the Clippers, though. In the second play-in game, the Clippers hosted the winners of the 9/10 game, the New Orleans Pelicans. Before the game though, Clippers star Paul George tested positive for Covid-19 and had to sit out that game. The Clippers, now missing both George and Kawhi Leonard, put up a spirited fight, even going up by 10 entering the fourth quarter, but ultimately lost the game down the stretch, 105-101. That loss knocked them out of the playoffs and into the lottery. It was already known that the Thunder would get the Clippers pick regardless of where it landed (remember, the gift that keeps on giving). But now, the Thunder had, not just one, but now two picks in the lottery of the 2022 Draft.

We all know what happened after that. The Thunder luckily jumped up in the lottery and got the 2nd pick. The Clippers’ pick landed at 12. Chet Holmgren was picked by the Thunder with the 2nd pick. And with the Clippers’ pick (WTTP, if you know, you know), the Thunder drafted a draft combine rising star from the University of Santa Clara by the name of Jalen Williams. And the rest, as we know, is history. Williams became an All-Star and All-NBA player by his third season and helped the Thunder win their first championship in Oklahoma City. All because a team lost twice in the Play-In Tournament.

Can it happen again? Maybe. Maybe not. Single game results can be so varied. Things like home-court advantage may not necessarily matter in this type of setting. But to have the opportunity to get, not just one, but two lottery picks in a draft like this is crazy. The Thunder brass will definitely be locked into the Play-In Tournament. Not just for the purposes of scouting their possible first round opponent, but also for the purposes of seeing where their picks are going to land. The way you keep a dynasty rolling is by resupplying with talent from the draft. Rookies are usually cheaper than more established players. With the Thunder definitely going head first into the tax and possibly into the second apron next season, having the ability to draft top-tier (cheaper) talent is tantamount to their ability to continue contending. OKC will need Philadelphia to lose twice and the Clippers to lose once. It’s happened once already. Is it in the cards to happen again? I don’t know, but we’ll definitely be watching.

Western Conference Play-In Preview

Posted on April 16, 2024 by Alex Roig

Last season, the play-in tournament had huge significance for the Oklahoma City Thunder because they were in it. The 40-42 Thunder went into the play-in as the 10th seed, facing the New Orleans Pelicans in the 9/10 match-up. The good guys won a close game, 123-118, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, and Lu Dort combined to score 90 points. Next up, they faced the loser of the 7/8 match-up, the Minnesota Timberwolves. The size of Minnesota overwhelmed the Thunder and they bowed out of the tournament after a 120-95 loss.

Fast forward nearly a year later, and the play-in tournament this season still has huge significance for the Thunder…but for different reasons. Instead of being participants, the Thunder are now at the top of the West, waiting to see who they will face in the first round. Here’s a look at the two play-in games and how the teams in them match-up against themselves.

Game 1 (7/8 match-up) – Los Angeles Lakers vs. New Orleans Pelicans

When: Tuesday, 16 April 2024 at 6:30pm CST
Where: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA

Season Series: Lakers won the season series 3-1

Dec. 7th – 133-89 (Los Angeles)
Dec. 31st – 129-109 (New Orleans)
Feb. 9th – 139-122 (Los Angeles)
Apr. 14th – 124-118 (Los Angeles)

The Set-Up

It may not seem like it, but this match-up has been brewing for a while now. If you remember back to the In-Season Tournament semi-finals in December, LeBron James and the Lakers completely embarrassed Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans. The reactions after this game were peak “does Zion even care?” and “does Zion want to play in New Orleans?”. Since that game, though, Williamson has taken it upon himself to get into better shape and to add more wrinkles to his game (point Zion). The Pelicans put together a good run in the second half of the season, but fell apart a little at the end due to Brandon Ingram’s injury. Ingram returned for the season finale against the Lakers, but the Pelicans lost and they plummeted to the 7th seed behind Phoenix.

Game 2 (9/10 match-up) – Golden State Warriors vs. Sacramento Kings

When: Tuesday, 16 April 2024 at 9:00pm CST
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA

Season Series: Series tied 2-2, but Sacramento won the tie-breaker due to a better division record

Oct. 27th – 122-114 (Golden State)
Nov. 1st – 102-101 (Golden State)
Nov. 28th – 124-123 (Sacramento)
Jan. 25th – 134-133 (Sacramento)

The Set-Up

The NBA has to be salivating with these West play-in games. Not only did the Warriors and Kings match-up in one of the more memorable series in last season’s playoffs, but they’ve also had 3 consecutive meetings this year decided by one point. This game is literally “win or go home”. Does this game put the final nail in the Warriors’ coffin? Or does Sacramento go into an offseason with a plethora of questions after seemingly being on the path to contention? Whatever the result, it definitely makes for must-see TV. You can bet the Thunder will be watching.

Milwaukee Bucks vs. Thunder preview (Game 81 of 82)

Posted on April 12, 2024 by Alex Roig

Milwaukee Bucks (49-31, 2nd in the East) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (55-25, 3rd in the West)
When: Friday, 12 April 2024 at 7:00pm CST
Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Offensive Rating – MIL: 118.0 (5th) / OKC: 118.1 (4th)
Defensive Rating – MIL: 114.9 (18th) / OKC: 111.5 (4th)
Net Rating – MIL: 3.2 (8th) / OKC: 6.6 (2nd)

The Set-Up

The Play-In tournament is working. Even though the post-season participants have been known for a while now, the positioning of the majority of those teams is still in the air. And that makes games in April matter. Whether it’s trying to avoid the 9/10 game or trying to avoid the play-in games altogether, most teams are still playing with fervor with 1-2 games left to play. That was basically unheard of in years past. April games were very similar to summer league games, where NBA hopefuls and team developmental players would get their opportunity to shine. Now we are still seeing guys like LeBron and Steph battle it out trying to move up out of the 9/10 game. It makes for a fun 82-game season, instead of the usual 75-game season plus 7-game G-League showcase at the end of the season.

This is the 2nd and final meeting of the season between these two teams. The Thunder were soundly defeated by the Bucks in late March by a score of 118-93. A game in which the Thunder likely played their worst third quarter of the season, getting outscored 34-17 and shooting just 24% from the field for those 12 minutes.

Betting Info

Line: OKC -14.5
O/U: 223.5

Injury Report

OKC

Josh Giddey (hip) – Questionable

MIL

Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) – OUT
AJ Green (ankle) – OUT
Damian Lillard (adductor) – OUT

Three Big Things

Playoff Seeding – Milwaukee and OKC find themselves in similar situations when it comes to playoff seeding. OKC still has the opportunity to get the No. 1 seed in the West, but would need a divine miracle for the Nuggets to lose to both the Spurs and Grizzlies in their last two games of the season. The battle for No. 2 and 3 likely hinges on how serious the Thunder and Timberwolves take these last two games. Both teams are tied as far as record is concerned, but Minnesota holds the tie-breaker due to their better conference record. Minnesota plays Atlanta, who is already locked into the 10th seed in the East, and Phoenix, who could still be battling for the 6th seed in the West. OKC plays Milwaukee, who is still battling for the No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the East, and Dallas, who is basically locked into the 5th seed in the West. OKC would need to win out and hope Minnesota loses one of their last two games in order to secure the 2nd seed.
SGA – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has played with so much vigor since he returned from a 4-game absence due to a quad injury. In the two games he’s played (on a back to back, at that), SGA has averaged 33 points, 7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 2 stocks on 54/50/84 shooting splits. That burst with zero hesitation on the drives is back. And so is the swag of the team. When Sacramento had the Thunder down by 20 in the first half on Tuesday, you just had the feeling that SGA would will the Thunder back. When he is on, the Thunder have a different feel about them.
Bobby “Michael Jordan” Portis – For the season, Bobby Portis is averaging 13.9 points and 7.4 rebounds. But for some reason, in the seven games Giannis Antetokounmpo has missed, Bobby Portis turns into Robert Portis with a grown man game. In those seven games, Portis averages 23.7 points and 10.4 rebounds. Here’s hoping he has a Bobby Portis game and not a Robert Portis game.