OKC Thunder: 6 Must watch matchups for 2021-22 Thunder season
By Rylan Stiles
OKC Thunder rookies debut October 20th against the Utah Jazz
Welcome back to the NBA Season! Everyone is fresh, optimistic, feeling good, energized, and undefeated. As we saw a year ago, that is a recipe for success with Mark Daigneault’s squad.
Last year, the Thunder had the same dark cloud over the start of their season. Under then first-year coach Daigneault, the team was expected to be one of the worst in basketball.
However, the unit stayed scrappy all season, including giving top-tier teams like the Jazz a run for their money early on.
In their home opener against one of the best of the West Jazz a year ago, the Thunder fell 110-109. The team would eventually break through and beat playoff-caliber teams such as the Nets, Knicks, Blazers, Suns, and Bucks before the 30th game of the season.
light. Related Story. Josh Giddey NBA Draft profile
It is clear the new OKC Thunder bench boss has a way of motivating this young group. Well, the team begins their season on October 20th against the Utah Jazz, in Salt Lake City.
The Thunder will roll out Josh Giddey, Tre Mann, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, and Aaron Wiggins in a regular-season game for the first time against a tough defensive unit anchored by Rudy Gobert.
This will be one of the first times Giddey, Sam Presti’s sixth overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, will get substantial minutes after being sidelined in the Vegas Summer League after just five minutes of action with an ankle injury.
The last time Sam Presti owned a pick in the top ten? It resulted in selecting a future MVP. Could Giddey be on the same path as the three top ten picks prior to him under Sam Presti? Who knows! That is the fun of the adventure which begins on October 20th.