OKC Thunder in best position to play on Christmas Day

Oklahoma City proved to be one of the best teams in the league last season and that should be reflected in their schedule.

Over the past few years, the Thunder have undergone a major rebuild, working their way from two consecutive bottom-five seasons to the No. 1 seed in the West. Despite earning only a play-in spot prior to last season, the Thunder have staked their claim as contenders following their 57-win season.

Although the Thunder were touted as one of the most exciting young teams before last season, the signing of Chet Holmgren took the team to unprecedented heights. Next season, the Thunder will enter as favorites to win the league, and there should be no shortage of nationally televised games on their schedule, which is typically released in August.

Although the Thunder have played some big games in recent seasons, the team now hopes to end a five-year streak without a Christmas game, the longest since arriving in Oklahoma City. The NBA's first day of play includes five games featuring ten of the league's most exciting teams.

As last season's No. 1 seed, the Thunder are in prime position to play on Dec. 25. Over the past 10 seasons, 15 of the 20 teams that were No. 1 the previous season played on Christmas Day. All five top seeds that did not play on Christmas were from the East. The last time a No. 1 seed from the West did not play on Christmas was 2012, when the San Antonio Spurs were removed from the schedule.

Assuming the Thunder make the schedule, it would be their first Christmas game since traveling to Houston in 2018. That loss capped a nine-year streak of playing on Christmas in which the Thunder had a 6-3 record.

There's no guarantee the Thunder will play on Christmas next season, but with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the star in Oklahoma City, there should be no shortage of quality regular-season matchups in the coming years.

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