NBA Christmas schedule lacks Thunder. Here's how OKC could have spiced things up.
The Thunder’s spot as part of the NBA’s Christmas Day slate felt like a foregone conclusion. The No. 1 seed in a rigid Western Conference a season ago, an MVP runner-up, a widely-believed favorite to win the West this time around. All the makings of must-see TV.
Yet instead of being warmed by thousands of bodies inside the Paycom Center or elsewhere, Oklahoma City fans will be stuck next to an open fire and their in-laws at home once more.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania unveiled the league’s five Christmas games late Thursday, none of which featured the Thunder. Instead, the Nuggets will take to Phoenix, the Lakers will visit the Warriors, the Celtics will host the 76ers, the Timberwolves will play in Dallas, and the Spurs will take to Madison Square Garden.
The glaring absence of the Thunder left fans in a frenzy.
But which matchups make the most sense for the holiday slate:
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Lakers at Warriors
No changes here. Viewing this through the lens of the league, this is as predictable a matchup as any. As long as LeBron James and Stephen Curry remain capable, giving their teams even a sliver of hope and fans a sliver of nostalgia, this matchup will live on.
At the rate James is holding on, the matchup will be dragged along longer than the "Fast & Furious" franchise. And for what it’s worth, no matter the status or standing of either organization, their meetings still tend to produce especially entertaining basketball.
After defining the last generation of NBA basketball, these past few weeks of James and Curry playing together in the Paris Olympics have been a reminder of why the two are so special. Of what they mean to the game, and just how much these precious, dwindling moments mean. Their Paris partnership has reinvigorated — and united — the generation that once chose sides between them through constant NBA Finals battles.
There’s no telling if this Christmas will be their last of real relevance, but as of August, it was a no brainer.
Timberwolves at Mavericks
Perfect, no notes. A high-level matchup between two of the Western Conference’s powers and a rematch of the Western Conference Finals.
Yes, perhaps the series wasn’t as competitive as it could’ve been. Perhaps the Mavericks and Timberwolves aren’t more of a rivalry than the Mavs and Thunder or Nuggets and T'Wolves. But in this historically competent West, every contender is linked to each other. There is no entertainment or notable malice lost by swapping opponents.
For those who thought the script writers should look no further than a Thunder-Mavs matchup on Christmas Day, give them some credit. It feels like that matchup is guaranteed for opening night, which would make more sense.
If the Thunder isn’t visiting the American Airlines Center to open the season, then throw all the tomatoes you’d like.
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Thunder at Nuggets (Sorry, Suns)
The Thunder enjoyed an interesting season series with the Nuggets a year ago. A blowout before anyone realized what OKC truly was; a game winner that helped convince viewers of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s MVP case; a Thunder blowout that solidified what OKC was.
Even with the Nuggets falling backward in the offseason, it’s still fairly easy to bet on Nikola Jokic. But the Thunder’s got next. For the foreseeable future, they’ll remain two of the league’s most well-oiled machines.
The argument here is more about the Suns, though. From a business standpoint and league lens, it’s easy to understand why the Suns would be here. Kevin Durant remains wildly popular, as does Devin Booker. Phoenix’s ceiling might be depressing, crippled by the new CBA landscape and its own choices, but notability to the casual fan matters. Plus, the Suns and Nuggets have recent playoff history.
Still, with all the Thunder has going for it, the decision to slot it in over the seemingly decaying Suns wouldn’t kill.
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Spurs at Thunder, Knicks at Celtics (Sorry, Sixers):
As random of a matchup as the Spurs (last year’s 14th seed in the West) and Knicks feel, it’s painfully obvious what the purpose is: Put Victor Wembanyama and the Wembanyettes on the biggest broadway stage in basketball.
Some might call it sordid, some would call it what it is: A marketing dream for the NBA. Wembanyama will be the league’s biggest draw pretty soon, and a top-10 player in the world even sooner. The Knicks are as promising as they’ve been in years; There’s no way they could be excluded from the Christmas field.
But for the sake of basketball and rationality, let’s get the Thunder involved here.
We need the Knicks on Christmas like we need air, so they shouldn’t be displaced. Instead, they should take their talents to Boston. Or vice versa, it doesn't matter. The league could very well be saving the matchup for opening night, which would be great. New York is probably the biggest Eastern Conference threat to Boston’s hopes of repeating. The meeting deserves the big stage.
That forces the Sixers to count coal. It’s probably not realistic with the significance of Joel Embiid and the addition of Paul George, but is Philly really a better matchup than the Knicks? The Thunder has to slot in somewhere, right?
If the NBA is so understandably hellbent on pushing Wembanyama as the face of the next generation, give him a Christmas Day matchup with real history and context. Wembanyama has been attached to Chet Holmgren for years.
Their matchups still spark disputes, and the Rookie of the Year race was a healthy debate for at least a few months of last year. Once Wembanyama eventually lifts the Spurs from the trenches, the two programs will revert to being real rivals. Why not get a head start with a Christmas game?
Oklahoma City isn’t as sexy as New York, but storylines and rivalry are.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: NBA Christmas games lack Thunder despite OKC's championship hopes
