The NBA recently released the full regular season schedule for all 30 teams in the association, and OKC Thunder fans are absolutely elated.
From hosting infamous former franchise cornerstone Kevin Durant for their ring ceremony on opening night to being in line for 34 nationally televised games, it appears Oklahoma City is being given the royal treatment from the schedule-makers heading into the 2025-26 campaign.
However, outside of these in-your-face perks of the new 82-game reveal is one that's flying well under the radar, as the greatest gift the Thunder have received is actually the fact that they'll only be seeing 13 back-to-back contests throughout the entire season, which ties for the lowest mark in the league.
OKC Thunder tied for fewest back-to-back games in NBA
As is the case with their exciting uptick in primetime exhibitions, this level of involvement in consecutive outings is a stark contrast from last season in the best way possible.
To put things into perspective, the Thunder were tied for the most back-to-back games played in 2024-25 with 16.
Considering they also went through four rounds of the playoffs and finished things off with a seven-game series in the NBA Finals, Oklahoma City saw the most total games played (105) on the season as well.
Add this to the fact they are tied with the Indiana Pacers for having the shortest amount of time to recover before the start of next season, and any chance they get to ease the workload amid their championship follow-up journey should be seen as a blessing.
Being tied with only five other teams for the fewest back-to-back games certainly deserves to be viewed as such, especially when considering the majority of their opponents in said bouts are coming off campaigns where they finished at or below .500.
On the other side of the equation, five teams head into the year tied for the most back-to-back outings with 16 apiece. One of whom is arguably the biggest threat to Oklahoma City's repeat hopes in the Denver Nuggets, yet another win for the Thunder.
As we enter into 2025-26, OKC is looking to embark on a journey that they hope will see them become the first repeat champion in nearly a decade.
Though obviously the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, and the rest of the returning players that helped soak up 99.2 percent of last year's playoff minutes will need to bring their A games to accomplish such a feat, the club could also use some lucky breaks along the way.
Them receiving the lowest number of back-to-backs is a great place to start.