The Oklahoma City Thunder's History on Opening Night
The Oklahoma City Thunder have fared well on opening night.
This year's team, however, will have a different look from the get-go, starting without an All-Star or former All-Star for the first time in over a decade.
OKC opens up their regular season with a Wednesday night matchup against the Jazz in Salt Lake City.
In their short but illustrious 13-year span as the Thunder, the team has an 8-5 record to open their season.
In their first-ever opener, the Thunder suffered a loss in a particularly low scoring affair. They lost 98-87 to the Milwaukee Bucks, with Chris Wilcox and Russell Westbrook leading the way with 13 points apiece.
The next season was a different story, as Kevin Durant and Jeff Green combined for 49 points in a resounding win over the Kings.
Oklahoma City would then rattle off two more opening nights wins over the Bulls and the Magic in 2010-2012.
After alternating wins and losses for the next few years, the Thunder hit the golden period.
Fueled by a now veteran Kevin Durant and Westbrook, Oklahoma City won three straight openers, beating San Antonio 112-106, Philadelphia 103-97 and New York 105-84.
Former Thunder guard Russell Westbrook.
Rob Ferguson / USA TODAY Sports
The team got off to slow starts in each of the next two seasons, but even last year won their first game of the year against the Hornets.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is sure to have a big night on Wednesday, scored a game-high of 24 points to lead OKC to a 109-107 win.
The Thunder could very well come out hot, but it’s safe to say the 2020-21 NBA leading Jazz aren’t the Charlotte Hornets.
Wednesday night’s game can be watched on Bally Sports Oklahoma or listened to at WWLS 98.1FM in OKC.
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