ESPN Analyst Picks OKC Thunder to Win NBA Cup As Schedule Revealed

The Oklahoma City Thunder saw their NBA Cup schedule revealed on Tuesday and ESPN's Tim Legler is predicting them to win the cup.

Nov 3, 2023; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; A view of the tournament court before the game between the Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

On Tuesday, the NBA continued the trickling out of their schedule which included the reveal of their in season tournament schedule - now named the NBA Cup - giving the first look at the 82 games the Oklahoma City Thunder will play this season.

Participating in the Western Conference's Group B, the Thunder will take on the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz.

The Thunder will tip off their NBA Cup journey on Nov. 15 when they welcome in the Phoenix Suns. On Nov. 19 they travel to San Antonio to battle the Spurs on TNT, renewing the Chet Holmgren-Victor Wembanyama rivalry. On Nov. 29 they travel to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers in their second straight National TV game with this tilt being on display at ESPN. The group stage wraps up on Dec. 3 against the Utah Jazz.

This slate was announced on ESPN's using the NBA Today panel where top analyst Tim Legler pegged the Thunder to win the cup.

“How do you make a statement the following season? By winning this," Legler said on ESPN's NBA Cup schedule reveal show via NBA Today.

A season ago, the Los Angeles Lakers earned the first-ever NBA Cup, but ultimately couldn't survive the Play-in tournament out West. The Thunder couldn't make it past the group stage of the In Season Tournament but was able to rattle off 57 wins in the regular season.

Oklahoma City could make a massive statement with an NBA Cup win and for a team projected to have such a successful regular season run, it wouldn't be surprising. According to FanDuel, the Thunder only lag behind the Boston Celtics for the best odds to win the Cup.

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