NBA Cup Loss Allows OKC Thunder to Refocus on Regular Season

Oklahoma City was ready to compete for a big payday on Tuesday night, but it has a chance to refocus on the regular season instead.

After sweeping group play and dominating their quarterfinal matchup in the NBA Cup, the Thunder headed to Vegas with full intentions of doing what they couldn’t last season and winning the NBA Cup. Of course, that plan fell apart on Saturday night when Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs narrowly beat the Thunder, handing Oklahoma City its second loss of the season and eliminating it from the NBA Cup.

While the loss certainly wasn’t what the Thunder wanted to see, it gives the team a chance to reset in mid-December as it did a year ago. Last year, the Thunder’s loss in the cup final against the Milwaukee Bucks was a bit of a wakeup call for the team and clearly helped provide some motivation for the rest of the year.

However, coming off an NBA title, the potential motivation from losing in the NBA Cup isn’t as significant this time around. Yet, it’s about as much of a wakeup call as a 24-2 team can possibly have.

Dec 13, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) is defends by San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) during the second quarter at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Had the Thunder won against the Spurs and even secured the NBA Cup on Tuesday night against the New York Knicks, it would’ve mostly been business as usual. However, it also would’ve thrust a back-to-back set for Thursday and Friday into being three games in four nights in three cities.

Instead, the Thunder, who are already elite at bouncing back from losses, get four full days of rest before facing the LA Clippers at home and try to start another lengthy winning streak as Christmas approaches. It’s also not a bad thing for the Thunder to get away from all of the distractions of Vegas, which can easily throw a team out of rhythm.

Although the NBA Cup was effectively the last thing left for the Thunder to accomplish in a historic 2025, that is at least in the rearview mirror now and won’t continue to be any sort of early-season distraction. With another 56 games left in the regular season, Oklahoma City has an opportunity to gain some more separation at the top of the league and should still be hungry to prove it’s the best after a loss in a higher-stakes regular season environment.

An NBA Cup title would’ve been the perfect cap to a great 2025 for the Thunder, but their loss could give an already dangerous team even more motivation.