The Thunder wrap up preseason on the road Thursday night with a trip to Houston, where Oklahoma City faces the Rockets at 7:30 p.m. CT at Toyota Center.
It’s the final tune-up for an OKC group that has already gone 1-3 this preseason after moving on from Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe over the summer. The roster also has a different look with rookies Aday Mara, Bennett Stirtz, Otega Oweh and Josh Dix now in the mix.
Thursday’s matchup comes with plenty still up in the air, including which players either team will make available. But with it being the last preseason game, neither side is expected to lean heavily on rotational regulars.
Here’s how to follow the game: KSBI-52 in Oklahoma City, KQCW-19 in Tulsa and NBA TV will carry the broadcast. Fans can also watch online through Thunder+.
Justin Martinez is taking the Thunder by a narrow margin, picking OKC 110, Houston 107. His reasoning is simple: the Thunder have a little more depth.
The projected Thunder starters are Bennett Stirtz, Josh Dix, Kenrich Williams, Brooks Barnhizer and Aday Mara. Houston’s projected starters are Bruce Thornton, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Isaiah Crawford, Julian Phillips and Oscar Tshiebwe.
Oklahoma City’s preseason roster for 2026-27 includes Brooks Barnhizer, Alex Caruso, Josh Dix, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Isaiah Hartenstein, Andrew Holifield, Chet Holmgren, Aday Mara, Jared McCain, Ajay Mitchell, Otega Oweh, Anthony Pritchard, Zhaire Smith, Thomas Sorber, Bennett Stirtz, Christoph Tilly, Nikola Topić, Cason Wallace, Jalen Williams, Jaylin Williams and Kenrich Williams.
The Thunder’s preseason run has already included losses to the Pelicans, Bucks and Hawks, followed by a 114-112 overtime win over the Pacers on Tuesday. Thursday’s game against the Rockets is the last stop before the preseason closes.
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His playoff showing in the Western Conference Finals drew criticism, but Holmgren has kept the same message about moving forward rather than getting stuck on what happened in that series. For Oklahoma City, the bigger question now is how much his outside shot can open up the floor and help the offense evolve, especially if his role stretches farther from the basket. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Defense Just Sent A Clear Message About This Season
Bleacher Reports latest ranking of the leagues top 30 defenders offered a familiar reminder about why Oklahoma City enters this season with so much defensive confidence. Five Thunder players made the cut, with Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace and Chet Holmgren all recognized for the work theyve already put on tape and the kind of impact they can bring again this year.
The groups depth is the real takeaway, especially when a team can stack that many respected defenders in one ranking and still have room to argue for even more attention. Holmgrens rise has already placed him among the leagues elite after he finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting and earned All-NBA Defensive First Team honors last season, and the expectation now is that Oklahoma Citys identity on that end of the floor only gets tougher to handle. [Read more 🡒]