The NBA world will get a chance to see the Oklahoma City Thunder welcome the Phoenix Suns after less than two weeks from their previous stop.

The Thunder and Suns will square off in the 2025 NBA Cup quarterfinals. Only eight teams remain in the knockout stage of the in-season tournament. A trip to Las Vegas is on the line. The reigning NBA champions fell just short last season as they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in the finals.

After the Thunder barely escaped the Suns in their West Group A matchup, Booker revealed that the ‘secret is out’ in terms of how OKC plays defense. He said their physical brand of defense has helped them speed up opponents in their decisions. That segues to a bunch of turnovers.

“The secret is out. They do speed you up. They play aggressive. They’ll grab, they’ll hold, but it’s never like when you’re in a shooting position,” Booker said. “It’s always on the handle or on your drives when they get away with it.”

The Thunder collected a 123-119 win over the Suns. Booker was held to 21 points on 5-of-13 shooting. Not bad, but certainly not a loud performance either. We’ll see if he can play in the rematch as he recovers from a groin strain, but Mark Daigneault was asked about his comment.

Daigneault didn’t add fuel to the fire. Instead, this was the first time he had heard what Booker had to say. All that matters to the Thunder is what they internally think. No bulletin board material is required for the reigning NBA champions.

“I didn’t hear that. We just focus on what’s between the lines. Everybody says stuff after the games in terms of interviews — whether it’s a compliment or anything else,” Daigneault said. “We just focus on what we can control between the lines.”

Feels like there’s some gamesmanship involved here. Regardless, Booker isn’t the first NBA figure to link OKC’s all-tie defense with being super physical. That’s its whole brand. Every other night, you see on social media how much other fanbases hate it. But that’s what happens when you have some of the best defenders in the league on your squad.

Mark Daigneault on Devin Booker saying the ‘secret is out’ with how OKC defends: “I didn’t hear that. We just focus on what’s between the lines. Everybody says stuff after the games in terms of interviews — whether it’s a compliment or anything else.” pic.twitter.com/W4bMvFhV8N

— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) December 9, 2025