The Oklahoma City Thunder is set to begin their 17th season on Thursday night as they travel to Denver to take on Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets. Preseason expectations are as high as ever for the Thunder with championship hopes back on the menu, but the Nuggets—2023 NBA Champions—are also hoping to get back to their former greatness.
OKC made some key additions in the offseason by adding Alex Caruso, who was acquired via a trade with the Bulls that sent Josh Giddey to Chicago, and Isaiah Hartenstein, who was signed in free agency. Both moves were widely celebrated by media and fans alike, and despite Hartenstein being forced to miss the next month or so with a fractured left hand, the new guys appear to be fitting in quite well with the young but experienced squad of recent years. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander returns as an MVP Candidate, Jalen Williams is likely to make a push for the league’s Most Improved Player, and Chet Holmgren and Luguentz Dort will resume their spots in the starting lineup alongside a new fifth member that will likely be Caruso.
In last season’s home opener, the Nuggets throttled the Thunder 128-95 before OKC won the next 3 meetings with Denver, and now the Thunder hopes to return the favor by spoiling Denver’s home opener this season. The Thunder has won 3 straight against the Nuggets in Denver, and while the home team is considered a slight favorite, don’t be surprised if OKC picks up a quality road win to begin the season.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 9 PM CT
Location: Ball Arena (Denver, Colorado)
Television: TNT
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live tweets and discussion during the game
Game Notes: Oklahoma City Thunder Official Game Notes, Denver Nuggets Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Alex Caruso
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Jalen Williams
- C: Chet Holmgren
Nuggets
- PG: Jamal Murray
- SG: Christian Braun
- SF: Michael Porter Jr.
- PF: Aaron Gordon
- C: Nikola Jokic
Injury Report
Thunder
- Isaiah Hartenstein (fractured left hand) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (left ACL surgery recovery) is OUT.
- Jaylin Williams (strained right hamstring) is OUT.
- Kenrich Williams (right knee surgery recovery) is OUT.
Nuggets
- DaRon Holmes II (right achilles tendon repair) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 28-32 against the Nuggets (17-14 at home, 11-18 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series with the Nuggets 7 times, lost it 8 times, and tied it once.
- The Thunder went 3-1 against the Nuggets last season (1-1 at home, 2-0 on the road).