The calendar has flipped to September, which means the 2025-26 regular season is right around the corner. While the Oklahoma City Thunder continue to celebrate their NBA championship, the rest of the league has circled their matchups against them to see how they stack up.
No question about it. Whenever the Thunder are on the road, expect the opposing arenas to be sold out. Fans will want to see the reigning NBA champions, especially if they think their team has a chance to dethrone them later on in the playoffs.
Advertisement
As Jalen Williams enjoys the offseason of a lifetime with a ring and hefty contract extension, he talked about the NBA road life he’s grown accustomed to over the last three seasons. He recently appeared on the “Out The Mud” podcast with Zach Randolph and Tony Allen.
One of the subjects was about road environments. When asked about the best road crowd, Williams said he thought the Sacramento Kings had the best atmosphere. He also gave the Indiana Pacers some props, as the Thunder went just 1-2 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse during the 2025 NBA Finals.
“Obviously, I think us by a landslide but Sac. The Sac crowd. Sac has a great crowd,” Williams said. “There’s as loud. The year we played them with the ‘Light the Beam’ stuff, when that first took off. They was wilding.”
Everybody knows the Kings have one of the best fan bases. When they have a solid squad, their fans come out to fully support. Just an unfortunate reality that those types of seasons come few and far between. Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan make up an interesting squad that should flirt with another play-in tournament appearance this upcoming season.
Advertisement
That said, the Thunder only have one matchup set at Sacramento. They will travel to Golden 1 Center for a regular-season matchup on Friday, Nov. 7. They will face the Kings two more times at OKC.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Who does Jalen Williams believe has the best NBA road crowd?