Keeping West’s No. 1 Seed will be Crucial for OKC Thunder

After months, the Oklahoma City Thunder are finally getting an extended break.

In sending players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and more to All-Star Weekend, the Thunder finally get a few precious days off from the grueling NBA schedule. And with that, they’re likely hoping to get healthy for the first time this season.

The Thunder have been among the more injured teams in the league this season, with their starting five of SGA, Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Luguentz Dort and Isaiah Hartenstein having hardly shared the court together at all. Additionally, players like Ajay Mitchell, Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace, Jaylin Williams and more have seen extended time out due to injury.

For further reference, Thunder’s starting 5 have played a total of 42 minutes together all season. Kind of crazy. https://t.co/m6UlcqoWhZ
— THE UNCONTESTED PODCAST (@The_Uncontested) February 17, 2026

The team got off to a historic 24-1 start, but injuries derailed the early-season success, leading to 18-13 the rest of the way.

Getting healthy over the next few days will be important for OKC, given just how important keeping the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, and overall, will be.

The importance of grabbing No. 1 is seen in last year’s postseason run. Oklahoma City grabbed the league’s best record, earning home field advantage in each series.

This was especially important in the team’s two biggest series: Denver and Indiana. Both series went to seven games, with two fateful Game 7’s being played in Oklahoma City. The Thunder played drastically better at home than on the road, and had they not earned home field advantage in the regular season, it’s possible they could’ve went a different way.

With the Spurs, Nuggets and more cementing themselves as contenders, it will again be important for OKC to give themselves every advantage possible, and that include four games at home, opposed to three.

Right now, the Thunder stand just 3.0 full games ahead of San Antonio in the West. What was once thought of to be completely out of reach for other squads is within striking distance for a fresh Spurs squad, led by Victor Wembanyama and a trio of handlers.

Other teams will have a tougher time catching OKC even given injuries. Next-best Denver sits 6.5 games back, and the up-and-down Rockets 7.5 games back.

One other wrinkle is Oklahoma City losing the top record overall, potentially to the East-best Detroit Pistons. Detroit currently has the fewest losses in the league at 13, with the potential to pass Oklahoma City record-wise.

This would only matter in the event Detroit and Oklahoma City both make it to the Finals, though it could be important down the line.

The Thunder will again kick off their season against the Nets on Friday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m.