The NBA is changing the scenery for its in-season tournament again, and this time the title game is headed to a college basketball landmark.
After debuting the event in 2023-24 and later rebranding it as the NBA Cup, the league is moving the final four and championship game out of Las Vegas. This season’s title bout will be played at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse at Butler University in Indianapolis.
For the Oklahoma City Thunder, the draw landed them in Western Conference Group B. Their clearest test in the group is the Minnesota Timberwolves, who they’ll host at home.
Oklahoma City’s other home game in NBA Cup play comes against the New Orleans Pelicans, while road trips to face the L.A. Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies round out the group slate.
The Thunder have already built a strong Cup track record, reaching the knockout stage and making the Final Four in each of the last two seasons. They fell to the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2024-25 NBA Cup Final, then lost the Western Conference Final NBA Cup battle against the San Antonio Spurs this past season.
The league’s move to Hinkle fits its broader push to take the event to historic venues, with other college basketball buildings like Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium and Allenfield House at the University of Kansas mentioned as possible future stops. After a couple of years in Las Vegas that reportedly lacked the energy the league wanted, the NBA is betting that college towns will bring a different kind of atmosphere when NBA stars take the floor.
In Other News...
Thunder Bringing Back Kenrich Williams Says More Than It Seems
Kenrich Williams is coming back to Oklahoma City, a familiar move for a Thunder team that has spent the summer balancing continuity with the realities of a title-contending roster. The veteran forward has been part of the organization since the 2020 Steven Adams trade, and his return gives the Thunder another trusted piece who knows the system, the standards and the day-to-day expectations inside the building.
The deal also says something about where Oklahoma City is willing to go to keep that stability intact. After declining Williams team option for the 2026-27 season, the Thunder agreed to a new one-year contract that should help sort out the final roster spot, even if it edges them further into the luxury-tax picture. For a team in this position, those kinds of decisions are rarely just about one player. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Starting Five Suddenly Feels Less Settled Than Fans Expected
The Thunders offseason has already done plenty to reshape the depth chart around its core, and the front office has not been shy about making moves that hint at how the next roster will be built. Oklahoma City drafted three players, dealt away a pair of bench scorers, kept Isaiah Hartenstein in place and picked up Luguentz Dorts team option, all while keeping the focus on a competitive group centered on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams.
Even with that core firmly established, the opening-night starting five is not as locked in as it once looked. Projections have Cason Wallace in the fifth spot alongside Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, Holmgren and Hartenstein, but the Thunder still have enough flexibility, and enough young talent, that the final call could shift as the roster settles and roles sort themselves out. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Just Got Another Reminder Why Hartenstein Mattered So Much
The Thunders frontcourt has been through enough early uncertainty to make every layer of depth feel important, and Thomas Sorbers latest setback only sharpened that reality. The rookie recently had a minor arthroscopic procedure on his right knee tied to the ACL injury that already slowed him, and he is expected to get back to activity in about a month.
That timeline does little to ease the broader concern, especially with Chet Holmgren among the big men who have missed time and left Oklahoma City leaning harder on what it can trust inside. It is a reminder of why Isaiah Hartenstein became such a central piece of the offseason plan, with the Thunder clearly valuing the security he brings to a group that has already had to absorb too many frontcourt variables. [Read more 🡒]