OKC Thunder could make history tonight against the Pelicans

The Oklahoma City Thunder have earned a spot in the NBA postseason play-in tournament after finishing the season 40-42. The OKC Thunder will travel to New Orleans to take on the Pelicans, and it could be a historic night for the Thunder and the NBA at large.

The NBA Play-in Tournament has been around for a couple of seasons now. However, the tenth seed has never won a game in this tournament in either conference. In the West, the Spurs fell 100-96 to Memphis in 2021, and the Spurs lost by ten to the Pelicans last season in the Play-in tournament.

In the Eastern Conference, the Charlotte Hornets fell to the Pacers 144-117, and those same Hornets were topped by the Hawks last season 1132-103.

The OKC Thunder could make history tonight against the New Orleans Pelicans as the first tenth seed to ever beat a nine in the NBA Play-in tournament.

While a tenth seed has never earned a win in the NBA Play-In Tournament, they have not been competitive teams in this small sample size. In 2020-21, the Spurs finished 32-39 to advance to the Play-in tournament. In 2021-22, the Spurs finished 34-48 to grab a spot in the tournament. So, of course, those teams were not competitive.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are in the best position of any Western Conference Tenth Seed to earn a win and make history for the league. Sitting at 40-42, with a franchise-altering rookie, a superstar guard that averaged over 30 points per game, and a stellar head coach, the Thunder have a formula that the other ten seeds lacked.

However, New Orleans is still the favorite, especially at home. We are in store for the Western Conference’s most competitive nine verse ten matchups. Will the OKC Thunder make history tonight? Leave your prediction below in the comment section.