The Thunder are back on the floor in Las Vegas on Tuesday night, and this one comes with another chance to get a first look at how OKC handles a Nuggets team that already has one win in the books.
Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT at the Pavilion in Las Vegas.
It’s the third of five Las Vegas Summer League games for Oklahoma City, which dropped a 104-79 decision to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday. Denver arrives after beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 101-82 on Saturday.
There’s no score to track yet, but the matchup sets up around a few names worth watching. KJ Simpson has been the engine for Denver so far, putting up 18 points and 6.5 assists per game in Las Vegas Summer League play. Bryce Hopkins has also made his presence felt, averaging 20 points and 5.5 rebounds.
That’s part of why Justin Martinez is leaning Denver in this one, projecting a 104-93 Nuggets win. His reasoning is straightforward: OKC doesn’t have a strong point-of-attack defender to put on Simpson, and the Thunder could also have trouble dealing with Hopkins’ physical style. Martinez also noted that Oklahoma City has gone 0-5 combined in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas Summer League play.
The projected starters listed for Denver are KJ Simpson, Erik Stevenson, Bryce Hopkins, Mark Mitchell Jr. and Giovanni Emejuru.
For Oklahoma City, this is another stop in a busy Summer League stretch, with the Thunder still working through their 2026 NBA Summer League schedule in both Salt Lake City and Las Vegas.
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The real intrigue is in the middle of the roster, where health and performance will sort out who gets trusted once the games start mattering. A few players are already on the bubble or fighting to carve out a role, and the frontcourt picture is especially unsettled as Oklahoma City weighs size, availability and fit for those last minutes. Daigneault has options, which is usually a good problem, but it also means the competition for rotation spots is about to get very real. [Read more 🡒]