It has officially been over a week since the OKC Thunder last stepped foot on the hardwood for postseason play, and fans have been champing at the bit as they wait for their beloved ball club to resume its title-hopeful journey.
After finally besting the 48-win Memphis Grizzlies in sweep fashion in round one back on April 26, Oklahoma City has been looking for any word on who their second-round foe will be and, more importantly, when they'll be able to resume play.
Saturday, both questions were officially answered, and all of the franchise's faithful followers should be made aware of what's to come.
The OKC Thunder now know when their next playoff game will be
During the early hours of this weekend's kick-off, the Thunder announced the dates, start times, and television broadcast for each of the first four games of their Western Conference Semifinals schedule.
The exact details read as follows:
* Game 1: Monday, May 5 @ 8:30 pm (TNT)
* Game 2: Wednesday, May 7 @ 8:30 pm (TNT)
* Game 3: Friday, May 9 @ 9:00 pm (ESPN)
* Game 4: Sunday, May 11 @ 2:30 pm (ABC)
As should already be known due to their ownership of the top record during the regular season at 68-14, the first two games of the series will be played out at Paycom Center.
Following this past Saturday's chain of events that saw the Nuggets take down the Clippers in a commanding Game 7 blowout (120-101), Games 3 & 4 will be held in the Mile High City.
Oklahoma City squared off against the Nuggets on four separate occasions during the 2024-25 regular season, with their series ultimately winding up with a split record of 2-2. The Thunder wrapped with a +6.0 per-game point differential.
Of course, despite their tie on the year, OKC inherently will be coming into this semifinals matchup with a clear edge, as they'll have fresh legs after being able to rest and rehabilitate for nine full days while Denver will have just played a long and grueling series during the round before and will have had a mere one day of rest before Monday's Game 1 tip-off.
On top of all this, the lion's share of attention will be focused on who of the two leading candidates for league MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic will wind up with the upper hand in this highly anticipated head-to-head clash.
On the other side of the bracket, the Minnesota Timberwolves easily coasted to a 4-1 gentleman's sweep over the Los Angeles Lakers and are now waiting for the conclusion of Sunday's Game 7 between the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets to know who their semifinal opponent will be.
With this, the final four out in the Western Conference is nearly set in stone, and the Thunder are slated to lead things off with this grouping with a Monday night face-off against Denver.