The Oklahoma City Thunder are expecting one of the most anticipated seasons in Bricktown. Nearly every national media pundit predicts the Thunder will win the Western Conference and face the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, with Vegas odds confirming that projection.

After a summer of trades that saw the OKC Thunder make massive changes with Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein to improve their weaknesses, the team struggled last year. The Thunder are expected to match or surpass the 57-win mark they posted last year, good enough for first place in the NBA’s Western Conference.

A year ago, the Thunder did a masterful job of avoiding long losing streaks and stringing together wins. However, this season, the Western Conference will be just as tough, with parity in the league at its best ever. Most NBA teams have pitfalls to avoid. However, Oklahoma City should once again be talented enough—and thoughtful enough—to get past them.

As the calendar turns to January, the Oklahoma City Thunder will face a tough nine-game stretch. If OKC were ever to lose multiple games in a row, it would be this stretch between January 2-17.

During that stretch, the OKC Thunder will face two back-to-back playoff teams and six teams from last year. That begins on January 2 for the first game of a back-to-back series between the LA Clippers and New York Knicks. Then, Oklahoma City will host the Boston Celtics on January 5 before hitting the road to face the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks again on January 8 and 10. The only respite in that segment of the schedule will be in Washington DC against the Wizards on January 12.

Things will wrap up with a three-game, four-night series starting Jan. 14 in the City of Brotherly Love against the 76ers and ending with a home rematch that sees the Thunder host the Cavs on Jan. 16 before heading down I-40 to take on the Dallas Mavericks on Jan. 17.

It’s going to be a tough start to 2025, but the Thunder have enough depth and talent to come out of it unscathed.

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