OKC Thunder Must Protect Home Court in Final Weeks of Regular Season

The Thunder can't afford to lose games at home as the race for the 1 seed heats up.

Jan 13, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard/forward Jalen Williams (8) celebrates with guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) after he scored against the San Antonio Spurs during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City can’t continue to drop games on its home court after the All-Star break.

On Thursday night, the Thunder looked to close out its pre-All-Star stretch with a three-game winning streak. While they were shorthanded, they seemingly caught a break by having the shorthanded Milwaukee Bucks in town.

However, the Thunder simply weren’t able to find any rhythm offensively throughout the night and were blown out on their home floor. While Nikola Topic’s NBA debut made the game itself take a bit of a backseat, the loss still dropped the Thunder to 42-14, matching last season’s loss total.

Along with hitting last season’s overall loss total, the Thunder also matched last season’s home loss total, with Thursday’s game marking Oklahoma City’s sixth home loss. Sitting at 22-6 in Paycom Center this season, the Thunder have the best home record in the league, but the Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs also both sit at only six home losses.

Last season, the Thunder’s journey to an NBA title included two Game 7s on their home floor. And to have that luxury again in 2026, the Thunder will need to maintain their spot as the top team in the West, which will require some better performances at home than the Thunder have shown as of late.

While Oklahoma City is 22-6 at home, that features a 14-0 start and a rough 8-6 stretch since, including wins in only two of the past six home games. The Thunder’s dominance overall has dropped off since their record-tying start to the year, and their lack of home dominance has been a key piece of that.

With 13 home games left, the Thunder need to take care of business in Paycom Center. With 10 of those final 13 home games coming against teams that currently have winning records, taking advantage of playing in Oklahoma City will be crucial for the Thunder in the standings.

Of course, getting healthy for the postseason will be the main goal for the Thunder the rest of the way, but finding ways to grind out wins at home against tough teams in March and April could be great reps for May and June. 

As the Spurs inch closer to the top spot in the West and the Pistons take over the league’s best record going into All-Star, the Thunder can’t lose focus of their overall goals, but they also can’t afford to keep having duds at home.

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