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Thunder Notes: Bounce Back, Holmgren, Smith, System, Hartenstein

December 29th, 2025 at 1:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Following three losses in four games — including a pair to their new rival, the Spurs — the Thunder responded with a 129-104 thumping of the Sixers on Sunday. Oklahoma City reestablished itself on the defensive side, holding Philadelphia to 42 percent shooting and forcing 23 turnovers, which it converted into 31 points.

“We really cranked up the pressure and the help and did so with discipline,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault told Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman. “It wasn’t reckless. I thought we really tuned up there and did a really good job of making everything hard on them.”

We have more on the Thunder:

Chet Holmgren, who scored a total of 31 points in the Thunder’s three previous games, erupted for 29 points, nine rebounds and four blocks on Sunday. “At the core, the guy is just a winning, tough player,” Daigneault said, per Martinez. “And it’s exhibited with the way he can hold his own at (center) when we shift him there. … He was a dominant defensive player tonight, first and foremost. He was great at the rim. Great in the help. Great in the coverages. He really played at a high level on that end of the floor. It just changes our team when he’s in that mode.”
The Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s NBA G League affiliate, has acquired wing Zhaire Smith from the Texas Legends in exchange for a 2026 first-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick, beat writer Rylan Stiles tweets. Smith was on the Mavericks’ training camp roster but was waived in mid-October. Smith, a 2018 NBA first-rounder, racked up 24 points, six rebounds and five assists against the South Bay Lakers on Saturday. Smith’s career got derailed early on due to a broken foot, followed by a life-threatening allergic reaction to sesame that left him forced to use a feeding tube.
Buying into the system is a requirement for the Thunder players and they recognize the benefits, Martinez writes. “On the player’s side, it’s always a sacrifice, but it’s for the better,” Luguentz Dort said. “For a player, you become more efficient. And then you connect more with the team. You’re more into what the team wants to do, and that recipe has been working. Whenever it’s been like that, it’s always important to listen to what they want you to do. Then you just adapt and get better at that, and you’ll be in a good position.”
Isaiah Hartenstein will miss tonight’s game against Atlanta due to a right soleus strain, according to Martinez (Twitter link). It’s the second time he’s strained that calf this season. He previously missed six games after originally injuring it on Nov. 26.

Thunder, Spurs Advance In NBA Cup: League Announces Schedule Changes

December 11th, 2025 at 7:39am CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder and Spurs will meet in the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas on Saturday after winning their respective quarterfinal matchups on Wednesday.

The Thunder improved to 24-1 on the season with a blowout home victory over the Suns. The game was never close, as Oklahoma City won each quarter by double-digits and defeated Phoenix by 49 points, making it the most lopsided loss in Suns history.

Oklahoma City made 55% of its three-pointers, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (28 points) and Chet Holmgren (24 points) leading the way and no Thunder player logging more than 27 minutes.

In the late game, the Spurs overcame 35 points from Lakers star Luka Doncic and 26 from Marcus Smart in his return from a back injury to pull off a 132-119 win on the road. Stephon Castle had 30 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists in his second game back from a hip injury, while six other Spurs scored in double digits.

The Thunder and Spurs will face one another on Saturday at 8:00 pm Central time for the right to advance to the NBA Cup final on Tuesday. Players on the losing team in that game will receive bonuses of roughly $106K apiece, while the winning team will face either the Magic or Knicks in the championship game a shot at the top prize ($531K per player).

Notably, Spurs star Victor Wembanyama has a shot to return from his calf strain for that game vs. the Thunder, per head coach Mitch Johnson.

“Very much so,” Johnson said after Wednesday’s win when asked if a Saturday return is in play for Wembanyama (Twitter link via Mark Medina). “He had a very good day today. He had a very intense day this morning. We’ll have to see how he responds and reacts tomorrow.”

The Thunder and Spurs will now play each other five times this season, including three times in December. The two clubs are scheduled to square off on December 23 in San Antonio and on Christmas Day in OKC.

The NBA also announced a handful of scheduling updates on Wednesday night, per Medina (Twitter link). The Suns and Lakers, who only had 81 games apiece on their respective regular season schedules, will face one another on Sunday in Phoenix at 7:00 pm CT.

The Thunder and Spurs had both been scheduled to play games on December 17, but those contests have been pushed back one day to Dec. 18 in order to give them an extra day of rest following the NBA Cup. OKC will now host the Clippers next Thursday, while San Antonio hosts the Wizards that night.

Thunder Notes: Paul, SGA, Dort, Holmgren

December 10th, 2025 at 6:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

The single season that Chris Paul spent with the Thunder planted the seeds for last year’s championship run and the current 23-1 start, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

Paul was traded to Oklahoma City in the summer of 2019, along with a collection of draft assets, in the deal that sent Russell Westbrook to Houston. He regularly invited his younger teammates to his home on off nights to watch other NBA teams play and used those games as teaching opportunities. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort both credit that experience with helping them develop into better players.

“Chris really was the first person to show me what it meant to be a professional,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “He was always doing extra. It was more so off the court than on the court. It was the things you don’t think about as a kid. As a kid, you’re taught to just work super hard, but you’re not really taught nutrition and taking care of your body, getting massages, getting treatment, those type of things he was always on top of. He just always had a get-better mentality in every way, in every way of life.”

Paul was especially influential with Dort, who was in his rookie season when they were teammates. Paul bought him an iPad to study game footage, along with a subscription to the Second Spectrum video service. He was also vocal about encouraging Dort not to pass up open shots, even though he was connecting at less than 30% from beyond the arc at the time.

“I used to be on Lu all the time,” Paul said. “I used to say, ‘Lu, you play defense so hard and you compete so hard that I don’t care if you miss (shots) on offense. I just want you to shoot it and give yourself a chance.’ When guys compete and play like that, then you live with the results.”

There’s more from Oklahoma City:

In an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Gilgeous-Alexander said the Thunder became more motivated to succeed after losing to Milwaukee in last year’s NBA Cup final. OKC was already establishing itself as one of the NBA’s elite teams, but it fell by 16 points to a veteran Bucks squad in the title game. “It definitely helped. It for sure helped. Losing in general helps all the time,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s easy to learn from losing. It definitely just showed us the formula for losing. The way we played that night, we didn’t give what the game required and it showed us that. And I think that prepared us to go into the playoffs having to play for something. It showed us before the schemes, before the scouting report, before the making shots, missing shots, the personnel, you’ve got to bring a certain level of intensity, focus and fight to the game if you want a chance to win.”
One reason for this year’s improvement is the presence of Chet Holmgren, who was only available for 32 regular season games last year. Holmgren has reinvented himself on offense, observes Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated, becoming an efficient shooter all over the court and a reliable scorer in transition, pick-and-rolls and post-ups.
The Thunder’s dominance may make teams reluctant to go all in with trade offers for Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, suggests Kirk Goldsberry of The Ringer. Particularly for Western Conference teams, it may not make sense to mortgage their future in a major deal if OKC looks unbeatable.

Jaylen Brown, Jamal Murray Named Players Of The Week

December 8th, 2025 at 4:54pm CST by Rory Maher

Celtics wing Jaylen Brown and Nuggets guard Jamal Murray have been named the NBA’s Players of the Week, the league announced on Monday (via Twitter).

Brown won for the Eastern Conference, while Murray claimed the award in the Western Conference.

Brown, the 2024 Finals MVP, led Boston to an unblemished 3-0 record in games he played from December 1-7. He sat out the Dec. 4 contest at Washington, which the Celtics won by 45 points. The 29-year-old averaged 34.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.0 steal on .538/.471/.889 shooting in three appearances last week (37.7 minutes per game).

A Georgia native who played one season of college ball for California, Brown is well on his way to making his fifth All-Star game in 2025/26. He’s averaging career highs of 29.1 PPG and 4.9 APG while also contributing 6.2 RPG and 1.1 SPG through 23 contests (33.7 MPG).

Murray, meanwhile, helped guide Denver to a 3-1 record last week. The 28-year-old Canadian averaged 29.8 PPG, 7.5 APG, 4.5 RPG and 1.3 SPG on .595/.621/.929 shooting in four appearances (33.8 MPG).

Murray is off to a fantastic start to the season himself and appears well-positioned to make his first All-Star appearance. Through 22 games (35.0 MPG), he’s averaging 25.0 PPG, 6.8 APG and 4.5 RPG — all career highs — with an elite shooting line of .506/.447/.898.

According to the NBA, De’Aaron Fox (Spurs), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams (Thunder), and Murray’s teammate Nikola Jokic were the other nominees in the West (Twitter link). Jalen Brunson (Knicks), Jalen Johnson (Hawks), Tyrese Maxey (Sixers), Michael Porter Jr. (Nets), and Brown’s teammate Derrick White were nominated in the East.

And-Ones: First-Time All-Stars, 2026 Draft, NBA Cup, More

December 5th, 2025 at 12:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2026 NBA All-Star Game is still over two months away, but a number of players around the league are emerging as legitimate candidates to appear in the game for the first time, writes Zach Harper of The Athletic.

Harper points to Bulls guard Josh Giddey, Hawks forward Jalen Johnson, Pistons center Jalen Duren, and Heat guard Norman Powell as Eastern Conference standouts who could become first-time All-Stars, while identifying Lakers guard Austin Reaves, Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, Thunder big man Chet Holmgren, and Nuggets guard Jamal Murray as the most plausible first-timers in the Western Conference.

Of those players, only Duren looks like a shoo-in to make the game, according to Zach Kram of ESPN, who takes his own early look at potential All-Stars and divides players into two groups — “near-locks” and “on the bubble.”

Duren is among Kram’s seven near-locks in the East, though he considers Giddey, Johnson, and Powell to have strong cases to make the cut. In the West, Kram thinks Murray could still find himself on the outside looking in despite a career-best first half, given the strength of the competition for the 12 spots. However, with eight international spots to fill and the potential for injury replacements beyond the initial 24 All-Stars, there could be multiple paths for the Nuggets guard to finally earn the honor.

We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Although Kansas guard Darryn Peterson has only appeared in two games so far this season, he’s the 2026 draft prospect that NBA scouts seem most excited about, according to Sam Vecenie of The Athletic, who places Peterson atop his most recent mock draft, ahead of Duke’s Cameron Boozer and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa. Tennessee’s Nate Ament has slipped out of Vecenie’s top five, with UNC’s Caleb Wilson at No. 4, followed by Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr.
A panel of ESPN insiders answers a series of questions related to the NBA Cup, including which player was the MVP during the group stage (Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got two votes apiece) and which team has the best chance to upset Oklahoma City in the knockout round (the Lakers earned three of five possible votes).
In an interesting story for ESPN, Kevin Pelton takes a deep dive into the data to explore the impact of familiarity on shooting efficiency and explains why a number of high-profile players who changed teams over the summer – including Cameron Johnson, Desmond Bane, and Myles Turner – may have gotten off to slow starts.
Lindsay Schnell of The Athletic examines how former G League players became NCAA-eligible and what it means for college basketball going forward. “At the end of the day, we’re not the ones making decisions,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “We either adapt to the rules or we get left behind. So until something changes, I guess all of us are watching G League games now.”

Northwest Notes: Murray, Strawther, Thunder, Kessler, Beringer

December 3rd, 2025 at 11:56am CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray exited Monday’s game vs. Dallas due to a right ankle sprain, but it doesn’t sound as if the injury will require an extended absence. In fact, it may not cost Murray any games at all, as he has been listed as questionable to play on Wednesday in Indiana, tweets Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette.

While the update on Murray is good news for the Nuggets, the team is still down multiple starters (Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon), and is also missing reserve wing Julian Strawther, who could have been in line for an increased role if he were healthy. As Bennett Durando of The Denver Post writes (subscription required), Strawther will miss a ninth consecutive game on Wednesday due to a back injury, and it doesn’t sound as if he’s all that close to returning.

“He’s been doing minimal movement stuff,” head coach David Adelman said on Monday. “He was on the exercise machines today. I think it’s just a process of the (treatment) working and then seeing where it leads to, just through activity. (But) not basketball activity or physicality. So at this moment, I really don’t have any update on him, other than it was good to see him moving around.”

According to Adelman, there wasn’t a specific play on the court that caused Strawther’s injury.

“It wasn’t in-game. It was an off day after a game,” Adelman explained. “He just woke up with pain, and then it got considerably worse, to the point where anybody that’s had back issues — I have — it sucks. Like, you can’t do anything. No mobility. So we’re just trying to work our way through it.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

Do the 21-1 Thunder have a legitimate chance to set a new NBA record by winning 74 games in 2025/26? Exploring that question, Sam Amick of The Athletic takes a look at how this year’s Thunder compare to the 73-win Warriors and notes that at least one member of that 2015/16 team believes Oklahoma City could break Golden State’s record. “I do think they’re capable,” Warriors forward Draymond Green told Amick on Tuesday. “You just need so many things to go right, though — from health, (although) they kind of plow right through health (issues), so it don’t matter, it seems. You need a lot of breaks to go your way, but they’re on the right track. I think 73 wins took some years off my life. But like I said, they’re capable of a lot.”
In a feature story for ESPN.com, Anthony Slater does a deep dive on one key contributor to the Thunder‘s success, exploring Chet Holmgren‘s lengthy recovery from a fractured pelvis last season and outlining why the center and his teammates believe Holmgren will keep getting better.
Jazz center Walker Kessler has remained “very engaged” while he recovers from a season-ending shoulder injury, taking part in practices and film sessions, head coach Will Hardy said this week, per Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. Kessler isn’t traveling with the team on road trips, but that will likely happen eventually. “We’ll address the travel part a little bit further into his rehab,” Hardy said. “… I want Walker around the team. Rehab can be very isolating, and I don’t think that’s good for Walker. But that’ll be a little bit further down the road as his rehab gets more established.”
Timberwolves rookie Joan Beringer hasn’t gotten a chance to play much this fall, but a Western Conference scout tells Grant Afseth of RG.org, “People in that building rave about how willing he is to learn.” For his part, Beringer says he’s focused on making a defensive impact and not trying to do too much in the instances when he gets a little playing time. “If I play five, six, seven minutes, I try to be good in my role, and the coach pushes me in this way,” the 19-year-old big man said.

Scottie Barnes, Cason Wallace Named Defensive Players Of The Month

December 2nd, 2025 at 2:14pm CST by Luke Adams

Raptors forward Scottie Barnes is the Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month for October/November, while Thunder guard Cason Wallace won the award for the Western Conference, according to an announcement from the NBA (Twitter link).

Barnes led the surprising Raptors to a 14-7 record through the end of November, and the team posted the NBA’s sixth-best defensive rating (111.5) during that time. According to the league, the versatile 6’8″ forward ranked fourth in the East in deflections in October/November (4.0 per game) and was the only player in the NBA to rack up at least 30 steals and 30 blocks.

Wallace, meanwhile, is one of many standout defenders on a dominant Thunder team that went 20-1 with a remarkable 103.6 defensive rating in October/November. Oklahoma City was three-and-a-half games better than any other NBA club during that time, and its defensive rating was nearly seven points per 100 possessions better than that of the second-place Rockets (110.3).

While the Thunder’s defensive performance is a team effort, Wallace led the NBA in steals per game (2.2) to open the season and also had more deflections per game (5.0) than any other player in the West, despite playing a relatively modest 28.6 minutes per contest.

It’s the first time that either Barnes or Wallace has won the Defensive Player of the Month award, which was introduced at the start of last season. According to the NBA (Twitter link), the other players nominated in the East were Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley, Heat big man Bam Adebayo, Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, and Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart — Mobley and Daniels each earned Defensive Player of the Month recognition twice last season.

In the West, Wallace’s Thunder teammates Luguentz Dort and Chet Holmgren were also nominated. Rockets guard Amen Thompson was the only non-OKC nominee in the conference.

Northwest Notes: Dudley, Jazz, Ainge, Thunder

November 5th, 2025 at 4:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jared Dudley had a lengthy NBA career. As an assistant coach with the Nuggets, Dudley now finds himself in charge of Denver’s defensive schemes. His main mission is a simple one.

“Coming up with a defense that protects (Nikola Jokic),” he told Bennett Durando of the Denver Post.

Dudley is doing so by having Denver’s guards and wings take on more responsibilities at that end of the floor, so that Jokic can conserve his energy for the offensive side.

“I can’t teach (him) anything offensively. You’re already this. You’ve got that,” Dudley said. “But defensively, I can teach you. I’ve played with different centers. I’ve played with Boban (Marjanovic), who’s bigger than you and slower than you. … I only want him to think about going back to the rim, Point A to Point B. I don’t want him having him to go guard these guards on the wings, in rotations.”

We have more on the Northwest Division:

How are the Jazz‘s young players faring thus far? Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune takes a closer look, breaking down the team’s last three draft classes and evaluating each of those players’ performances.
Austin Ainge is the Jazz‘s new president of basketball operations and Larsen spoke with the Celtics’ top executive, Brad Stevens, about the son of longtime Celtics and Utah executive Danny Ainge. Stevens is confident that Austin will step out of his father’s shadow and build a winner in Utah. “He’s always been a guy that I think has a good sense for putting a team together and what wins, both in the regular season and then certainly in the playoffs,” Stevens said.
The undefeated Thunder will be playing without several rotation players in Portland tonight. Alex Caruso (rest), Luguentz Dort (right upper trapezius strain) and Chet Holmgren (lower back sprain) are all listed as out, Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman tweets.

Injury Notes: Luka, Giannis, Young, Holmgren, Beal, Sixers

October 30th, 2025 at 10:03pm CST by Rory Maher

After missing the past three games with finger and leg injuries, Lakers superstar Luka Doncic has been listed as questionable for Friday’s matchup at Memphis, as Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group relays.

It has been five days since the Lakers stated that the Slovenian guard would be reevaluated in about a week, though Price notes the actual left finger sprain occurred a week ago vs. Minnesota. Head coach JJ Redick said ahead of Wednesday’s win that the swelling in Doncic’s finger had subsided somewhat.

Free agent addition Marcus Smart, who has missed the past two games with a quadriceps contusion, is also questionable for Friday’s contest, Price adds.

Here are some more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

Superstar Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was a surprise scratch on Thursday against Golden State after being listed as probable in the lead-up to the game, notes Jamal Collier of ESPN. Despite being down their best player, the Bucks defeated the Warriors behind a career night from guard Ryan Rollins, who finished with 32 points (on 13-of-21 shooting), eight assists and five rebounds, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic. As ESPN’s Anthony Slater notes (via Twitter), it was a revenge game of sorts for Rollins, who was drafted by and later traded by Golden State. The former second-round pick had a big game on Tuesday as well, recording 25 points (on 8-of-11 shooting), four assists and four steals in 26 minutes.
Star point guard Trae Young will be sidelined for Friday’s game in Indiana due to a right knee sprain, the Hawks announced (via Twitter). Young was reportedly scheduled to undergo an MRI today after he exited Wednesday’s game with the injury, which occurred late in the first quarter when a teammate was pushed and fell into his knee (Twitter video link).
Thunder big man Chet Holmgren was off to an excellent start this season before lower back soreness sidelined him for both Tuesday’s win vs. Sacramento and Thursday’s victory over Washington. Head coach Mark Daigneault said there are no long-term concerns with Holmgren’s back issue, per Jeff Patterson and Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman (subscriber link). “He’s where he should be,” Daigneault said before Thursday’s game. “We’re being conservative with him. If he was, obviously, perfect he would play tonight. But we’ll go through the process that we always go through.”
After missing the past two games with a sore back, Clippers guard Bradley Beal will be active for Friday’s contest vs. New Orleans, tweets Law Murray of The Athletic. Beal opened the season on a minutes restriction due to offseason knee surgery.
Although Jared McCain (thumb surgery) and Paul George (knee surgery) participated in the Sixers‘ practice on Thursday, both players will remain sidelined for Friday’s matchup against Boston, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link). In case you missed it, the 76ers picked up McCain’s third-year option on Thursday.

Thunder Notes: Holmgren, SGA, Wallace, Mitchell

October 26th, 2025 at 11:04am CST by Rory Maher

Thunder big man Chet Holmgren entered Saturday’s game with a questionable tag due to lower back soreness before being upgraded to available. And after a hot start in Atlanta in which he scored 14 first-quarter points, Holmgren suffered a dislocated thumb in the second quarter on a failed block attempt, writes Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman (subscriber link).

According to Martinez, Holmgren wanted to pop the injured digit into place himself and return to the game, but the team insisted he needed to undergo X-rays. The 23-year-old wound up having a big night once he was medically cleared to resume playing, finishing with 31 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and a block in 27 minutes.

“He’s always got that,” head coach Mark Daigneault said of Holmgren’s toughness. “He’s always ready to go. Great competitor. … He came out tonight teeing up those shots and saw a couple go in. He had a great game flow tonight.”

Reigning NBA MVP and Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander believes Holmgren, who signed a rookie scale max extension this offseason, is primed for a huge year.

“He’s stronger, faster and more explosive,” Gilgeous-Alexander said, per Martinez. “He’s just getting more comfortable. With a guy with his natural feel, as the games go on, he’ll continue to grow and be better. We’ve just got to continue to ignite him as teammates.”

Here’s more on the defending champions:

After double-overtime thrillers against Houston and Indiana resulted in Gilgeous-Alexander playing a combined 93 minutes, the superstar guard got some much-needed rest on Saturday, according to Martinez (subscription required). Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 30 points, five rebounds and five assists in 29 minutes, and was able to sit out the entire fourth quarter with the Thunder firmly in control of their third straight victory. “It’s the gauntlet of the NBA season,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “You never know what to expect. In the summertime, you try to prepare for the worst in terms of load-wise, and I think we’ve done a great job of being ready for the start of the season. We’ve had some pop for these first three games despite having a few double-overtime games.”
Thunder guard Cason Wallace, who was competing against his older brother Keaton Wallace, did an admirable job slowing down Hawks star Trae Young, Martinez adds in the same story. Young finished with 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting, Martinez notes. “He’s just got unbelievable hands, athleticism, toughness and a combination of things,” Daigneault said of Cason. “He seems to be a dude who, when he’s near the ball, he comes up with it. … He’s the guy at the bottom of a pile who’s gonna get the fumble and come up with the football.”
Ajay Mitchell is off to an excellent start to the season, averaging 18.7 points, 4.3 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 steal on .467/.417/1.000 shooting through three games (27.0 MPG). As Martinez writes for The Oklahoman (subscriber link), Mitchell poured in a career-high 26 points in Thursday’s win, which was particularly meaningful for the second-year guard, as it occurred on his late grandmother’s birthday. “She was very important (to me),” Mitchell said of his grandmother, who passed away in February. “She was always there for me. She was definitely on my mind this whole night. … I’m glad I got to play that way for her. She means the world to me, so I’m glad I did that.”