After an impressive win against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder are back in action on Thursday night. The Thunder are tabbed with backing back after an emotional opening night game where the team made a statement in downing the Spurs who have had the Thunder's number over the last season. San Antonio beat Oklahoma City in the 2026 Western Conference Finals.
The schedule gets no easier for the Bricktown Ballers as they welcome the Denver Nuggets into the Paycom Center for the Thunder's home opener on Thursday. Battling a divisional foe and going up against the always dangerous Nikola Jokic. These two teams have gone to war plenty of times in recent years, including the Thunder's seven-game series win in the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs. These matchups typically lead to close games that are revieting until the very end.
Two of the league's best, Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic, go toe-to-toe in this meeting with the best in the world title always at stake. The Thunder's back-to-back NBA MVP made a best in the world claim with his outing in San Antonio on Tuesday. He can keep building on it tonight.
Just before tip-off, the two sides revealed the starting lineup for this matchup.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Denver Nuggets Starting Five
OKC Thunder Starting Lineup
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, G
- Cason Wallace, G
- Jalen Williams, F
- Chet Holmgren, F
- Isaiah Hartenstein, C
Denver Nuggets Starting Lineup
- Jamal Murray, G
- Christian Braun, G
- Cameron Johnson, F
- Aaron Gordon, F
- Nikola Jokic, C
The Oklahoma City Thunder have a chance to start the season 2-0 with two high quality wins against Western Conference Contenders. The Thunder dispatched the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday –– Oklahoma City's biggest threat in the league –– and now take on the always threatening Denver Nuggets spearheaded by arguably the best two-man game in the sport as star Jamal Murray goes to work with superstar runningmate Nikola Jokic. Murray has typically been defended extremely well by former Thunder defensive-ace Lu Dort and now it is Cason Wallace's time to step up for this challenge all night.
Up next, the Oklahoma City Thunder enjoy a pair of off days as the team prepares for a Sunday-Monday back-to-back with both games at home starting against the L.A. Clippers on Sunday evening before welcoming in Jalen Green and the Phoenix Suns on Monday, the team the Thunder swept in the first round of the NBA Playoffs a year ago.
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