The OKC Thunder are off until Sunday after clinching their third consecutive playoff berth, but this doesn't mean they're not heavily invested in the upcoming Play-In Tournament.
Not only will it determine who their first-round opponent is, but should the LA Clippers lose on Wednesday night, Oklahoma City will be rewarded with their lottery-bound draft selection as a result of the always-giving 2019 Paul George trade.
Because of this, the Thunder and their fanbase should unequivocally be rooting for Los Angeles' direct adversary, the Golden State Warriors, leading into this mid-week matchup.
Throughout the regular season, both the Dubs and Clippers squared off on four separate occasions, with the latter pulling away with a 3-1 series win.
Of course, despite this unflattering success rate for Golden State, it's worth noting that as they roll into the tournament with health gradually coming back on their side (Kristaps Porzingis has played eight of their last 11 games, Stephen Curry has gone on record saying his knee feels "great," etc.), LA is now battling some key injury woes of their own.
Just recently, coach Ty Lue even noted that superstar forward Kawhi Leonard has been hobbled by wrist and ankle ailments over "the last couple weeks." He was held out of the club's regular-season finale against the Warriors as a result of said injuries.
Thunder landing lottery pick would be a nightmare for rest of NBA
All season long, a widespread fear among clubs across the league has reportedly been that the Thunder could finish off the 2025-26 campaign as the best team in the association and still add a top-billed prospect to their rotation come this June's NBA Draft.
As of this writing, they seem to be in a prime position to accomplish both feats.
After closing out their 82-game regular season on Sunday night, the Thunder have now officially collected 60-plus wins in two consecutive years, making their 132-32 record over this span the fourth-best in NBA history.
Needless to say, with this momentum and homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs on their side, the odds-makers have Oklahoma City pegged as the favorites to take home their second-straight Larry O'Brien Trophy.
Draft gurus near and far seem to also have confidence in their likelihood of netting a top-14 pick in this year's draft, thanks to the Clippers, with some, such as FanSided's Christopher Kline, even predicting that they should be on the clock at the 12 overall selection on the night.
As of this writing, it seems a perfect storm may be forming for this already dynasty-pushing Thunder squad, and all the rest of the association can do is watch.