OKC Thunder Shouldn't Worry About Potential Round 2 Matchup vs. Denver

The Thunder shouldn't be too concerned about their potential path to repeating.

Feb 27, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) goes up for a basket in front of Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić (15) during the fourth quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City’s playoff path is still undecided, but it shouldn’t worry too much about how things line up to end the regular season.

On Friday night, the Thunder played their penultimate game of the regular season, falling to the Denver Nuggets in a game that featured both teams resting a large portion of their rotation. With the Denver win, it controls its destiny for the No. 3 seed going into Sunday.

For the Nuggets, a win against the San Antonio Spurs would clinch the third seed, but the Spurs may be interested in going all out to keep Denver on the other side of the bracket. Of course, either the Thunder or Spurs will be at a disadvantage of having to play two of the top three teams in the West, depending on which side of the bracket Denver lands on.

While the Thunder clearly seem interested in getting Denver on San Antonio’s side of the bracket based on Friday’s outing, they shouldn’t be discouraged if the Nuggets end up on a collision course with Oklahoma City for a second-round matchup. Assuming the Spurs also want Denver on the other side and get a win to knock the Nuggets into the fourth spot, the Thunder will almost certainly be in for a rematch of last year’s second-round duel that went seven games.

However, this time around, the Thunder should be in a much better position to take care of Denver in a more dominant fashion. For starters, the Thunder have had much more success against the Nuggets in the season series.

Winning all three of the matchups outside of Friday, the Thunder have also been quite shorthanded each time, with Jalen Williams yet to face Denver this season. After the teams split the season series in 2025, it was clear that the postseason matchup could go the distance.

Add in the Thunder getting healthy at the right time, and Chet Holmgren playing the best basketball of his career, and Oklahoma City could have a legitimate shot at a gentleman’s sweep in a second-round matchup. On the other hand, there’s a reason the Thunder would rather face the Lakers or Rockets in the second round.

The Nuggets just took this Thunder team to seven games last season and could do so again. Still, Oklahoma City should have plenty of confidence that it can survive another series after last season’s result.

It wouldn’t be ideal to face Denver in the second round, but the Thunder have enough experience and confidence to be ready for whatever matchup might come their way.