As the calendar is about to flip to September, the NBA gravy train is about to get started back up. Before you know it, the eight-month campaign will kick off. One step closer to that was when the league recently dropped its entire 2025-26 regular season schedule.
The Oklahoma City Thunder continue to enjoy their NBA championship. They’ll enter the 2025-26 regular season as the consensus favorite to win again. After all, they’ll bring back the same roster that had one of the greatest years ever with a 68-14 record and a Larry O’Brien trophy.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren all signed contract extensions this offseason. Expect the Thunder to remain a title contender for the foreseeable future. That explains why the NBA has fully bought into the small-market franchise.
The Thunder are tied with the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors and New York Knicks for most national television games during the 2025-26 regular season at 34. A couple of those matchups will involve a top-three player and a two-time MVP winner.
Both of the Thunder’s games against the Milwaukee Bucks will be on national television. The first will be at Milwaukee on Wednesday, Jan. 21. That will be on ESPN. The second will be at OKC on Thursday, Feb. 12. That will be on Amazon Prime.
Even though the talent gap is wide between the two squads, Giannis Antetokounmpo is the ultimate equalizer. He’s one of the league’s best players. To show that, the 30-year-old averaged 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.2 blocks in what most considered a down season for him last year.
The Bucks may be a mess. They waived Damian Lillard in a shocking decision to make room for Myles Turner. Antetokounmpo could eventually ask out. But the NBA doesn’t believe they’ll suddenly become a boring squad. How they face off against the Thunder is considered must-watch TV, with the 2024 NBA Cup finals rematches being one of the matchup’s bigger storylines.