OKC Thunder: 6 Must watch matchups for 2021-22 Thunder season

OKC Thunder travel to take on the Houston Rockets in game two

I promise we are not just going to list the entire schedule in order, but it just so happened that each of the first two games is must-see TV.

After a 2020-21 season that saw a lot of losing, a historic losing streak for each side and polar opposite lottery luck, these two fan bases are experiencing each side of the tanking coin.

For the Rockets, they saw early success. After having a 47.9-percent chance to lose their pick entirely, not only did they keep their draft pick, but garnered a franchise superstar in Jalen Green during the process.

With the Russell Westbrook trade linking these two rebuilds together forever, that bond got even tighter during the 2021 NBA Draft. Not only did Houston pick up a superstar in Green, but they swapped a pair of future first-round picks with the Oklahoma City Thunder for Alperen Sengun.

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One of the best post-scoring prospects we have seen in a long time was in Sam Presti’s lap at pick 16 on draft night, and instead, the Thunder GM shipped him to Houston for future draft picks.

That trade was questioned by many at the time, and Summer League did Presti no favors.

While we can all agree Summer League should be met with some built-in skepticism, after a disappointing Vegas stretch from OKC, and some eye-popping plays from Sengun, fans around the basketball landscape spent their summer dunking on Presti for this trade.

While I do not think this will go down as the next James Harden trade, conveniently also with the Houston Rockets–are we sure Sam Presti is not a double-agent for the Rockets?–each time the two sides match up, this will be one to keep an eye on.

How does Alprene Sengun’s game translate to the regular season in the NBA? Can he stay on the floor defensively? Is Sengun mobile enough to play at this level consistently? Will he terrorize Oklahoma City for years to come?

All these questions will be answered in the future, and in the meantime, the two fanbases are sparking a budding rivalry that could surpass that of the mid-2010’s Mavericks rivalry.