OKC Thunder Can't Afford to Slip in Standings Amid Injury Issues

Oklahoma City has had a rough stretch recently, but it can’t let a couple of games turn into a larger problem.

The Thunder have been one of the NBA’s most injury-riddled teams throughout the past two seasons. With just about everyone on the roster outside of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missing some bit of significant time with injury issues.

For the Thunder, that hasn’t been much of a problem across the past couple of years, winning 68 games last season and sitting at 37-10 in 2026. However, the Thunder have lost their past two contests heading into Tuesday night’s bout against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Of course, the Thunder have been atop the NBA standings for the entire season up to this point, but their latest injuries have shown that Oklahoma City’s status at the top might be a bit more fragile than it once seemed. With the Thunder getting one matchup with every other top 7 team in the West over the next couple of weeks before the All-Star break, their hold on the top spot will be tested, especially if the injury report continues to be lengthy.

While the Thunder have taken a couple of losses at home over the past few days, they still enter Tuesday night with a five-game lead in the loss column over San Antonio and Denver out West. However, that’s not the only standings battle the Thunder will be fighting.

In the East, the Detroit Pistons are running away with the No. 1 seed, sitting at 33-11. Considering the issues every other team in the conference is facing, Detroit certainly appears to be the favorite to make it out of the East at the midway point of the season. That could potentially cause some problems for the Thunder.

If the Thunder can navigate this tough stretch with an injury-riddled squad and still maintain a healthy lead out West, the All-Star break should come at the perfect time and help Oklahoma City further heal for the final stretch of the season. While earning the top seed in the West would be massive and give the Thunder home-court advantage throughout the first three rounds, Detroit has a real opportunity to take over the top spot in the standings leaguewide.

Last season, the Thunder needed a Game 7 of the NBA Finals on their home floor to win it all. And with Oklahoma City’s significant drop in play on the road in the postseason in 2025, getting home court in every round is a must for the Thunder.