Thunder Continue New Year's Eve Tradition with Knicks Matchup
Despite a lack of Christmas and nationally televised games, the Thunder will have one game to circle on their 2021-22 slate: New Year's Eve against the Knicks.
The Knicks are a solid draw for the Thunder, who finished as one of the worst teams in the Western Conference last season, earning themselves the sixth overall draft selection in the form of Josh Giddey.
New York finished as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference last season, eventually and disappointedly losing out in the first round of the playoffs.
The Knicks might not have been a top name in the offseason, but they weren’t stagnant. They signed Randle to an extension, and sought to sign Kemba Walker after his buyout with OKC.
New York also signed Evan Fournier, and re-signed Derrick Rose and Nerlens Noel, a former Thunder center.
The Thunder have played a New Years Eve game in each of the last 13 years, going 10-3 in that span.
Last year, OKC suffered a 113-80 blowout loss versus the Pelicans on New Year's Eve.
Oklahoma City will look to get back into the win column on NYE this season led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was signed to a shiny new max extension in the offseason.
One of the youngest squads in the league, the Thunder will rely heavily on the likes of Gilgeous-Alexander, Darius Bazley, Luguentz Dort, Aleksej Pokusevski and a flurry of rookies to carry the load this season.
Tip off against New York on Friday, Dec. 31 will be at 7 p.m.
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