OKC Thunder Alter Regular Season Schedule After NBA Cup Fall Out

The Oklahoma City Thunder have altered their regular-season schedule as a result of making the Final Four in the NBA Cup in-season tournament.

Nov 4, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) celebrates in the second half as LA Clippers forward Nicolas Batum (33) watches at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

For the second straight season the Oklahoma City Thunder have advanced to the final four of the NBA Cup tournament. That marks two trips in the first three year's of the in season tournament's existence. Just another aspect of the NBA the Thunder have dominated with this era of the team. However, this has once again caused a scheduling issue.

A year ago, the Thunder fell to the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Cup Championship with the title game being hosted on its typical Tuesday night. Oklahoma City went from their five day stay in Vegas to immediately boarding a plane and jetting all the way over to Florida for a Sunshine State double dip with the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat starting on Thursday in the Mouse House.

This season, Oklahoma City is up against a similar challenge.

The Thunder's game against the L.A. Clippers in the Paycom Center next week was initially scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 17. After Oklahoma City punched their ticket to the NBA Cup Final Four starting with Saturday's semi final against the San Antonio Spurs, the league pushed that contest back a day, to Dec. 18.

Now the Oklahoma City Thunder and L.A. Clippers will set the table for still an additional back-to-back on the Bricktown Ballers schedule, just not in the direct aftermath of a possible Tuesday night in Vegas. The following night, on Dec. 19, the OKC Thunder will be in Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves on National TV with another Amazon Prime Game.

While this does avoid one back-to-back, it only creates another. This issue continues to plague the in season tournament for three straight years now, with teams getting lighter December stretches the earlier they are knocked out from NBA Cup title contention. It is something the league office will need to try to address but ties back into the overall debate about the length of the season.

Now, not only would Oklahoma City play a second straight season of 83 games before the playoffs after a shortened offseason thanks to their NBA title run, but they add a 14th back-to-back to their slate no matter what.

However, if the Thunder saw their 16 game winning streak snap in Vegas on Saturday, Oklahoma City would then get four straight off days before attacking the added back-to-back. That would be a rare break in the NBA schedule that is typically only reserved for the NBA All-Star break.