Oklahoma City Thunder | Preseason Game #3: Charlotte Hornets

Zachary LowOctober 9, 2025 No Comments

The Oklahoma City Thunder gets to play in front of the home crowd for the first time since winning Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers back in June, and even though it’s just a preseason game, the fans are sure to welcome them back with plenty of excitement. OKC is 1-1 through their first two preseason games: a 135-114 win over the Hornets in Charlotte on Sunday and a 106-89 loss to the Mavericks in Dallas on Monday. Now the Thunder plays host to the Hornets.

The Hornets are a team experiencing all kinds of growing pains as they have plenty of young talent on the roster, but not a lot of identity or direction. They haven’t had a winning season in the last 3 years, and they haven’t made a playoff appearance since 2016. Charles Lee is in his second season as the head coach of the Hornets, and while they are not expected to do any better than recent seasons, perhaps they can make enough progress to give fans something to cheer about.

Tonight’s game isn’t likely to be anything special as OKC’s starters have yet to play in the preseason, and with the season opener still 12 days away, it’s unlikely that they will play much, if at all, tonight. Still, it will be nice to have the guys back in the building, and fans will at least get to see some of OKC’s new faces in action.

Game Details

Tip-Off: 8 PM CT

Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)

Television: FanDuel Sports Oklahoma, KSBI

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, Charlotte Hornets Official Game Notes

Projected Starters

Thunder

  • PG: Cason Wallace
  • SG: Isaiah Joe
  • SF: Aaron Wiggins
  • PF: Ousmane Dieng
  • C: Jaylin Williams

Hornets

  • PG: LaMelo Ball
  • SG: Brandon Miller
  • SF: Kon Kneuppel
  • PF: Miles Bridges
  • C: Moussa Diabate

Injury Report

Thunder

  • Branden Carlson (right calf soreness) is QUESTIONABLE.
  • Alex Caruson (rest) is QUESTIONABLE.
  • Luguentz Dort (rest) is QUESTIONABLE.
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (rest) is QUESTIONABLE.
  • Isaiah Hartenstein (rest) is QUESTIONABLE.
  • Chet Holmgren (rest) is QUESTIONABLE.
  • Ajay Mitchell (ankle) is QUESTIONABLE.
  • Nikola Topic (testicular surgery) is OUT.
  • Jalen Williams (right wrist surgery recovery) is OUT.
  • Kenrich Williams (left knee surgery) is OUT.

Hornets

  • Josh Green (left shoulder surgery) is QUESTIONABLE.
  • Grant Williams (right knee surgery) is QUESTIONABLE.

Head-to-Head

  • Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 21-10 against the Hornets (11-5 at home, 10-5 on the road).
  • Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the regular season series against the Hornets 9 times, lost it 3 times, and tied it 5 times.
  • The Thunder went 2-0 against the Hornets last season (1-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).
  • The Thunder has won the last 4 regular-season meetings with the Hornets.
  • The Thunder defeated the Hornets 135-114 in their preseason meeting in Charlotte on Sunday.

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