Thunder Nightly
All teams
The Bricktown Brief · Morning

Two Return Targets Line Up With October 6

Sorber and Oweh both eye the preseason opener, while three new names still await their roles.

2026-10-06Return TargetSorber and Oweh's shared target
2026-10-06 vs Pelicans · PreseasonPreseason OpenerFirst game of the slate
2026-10-20 at Spurs (NBC/Peacock)Regular Season OpenerTwo weeks after preseason begins
$216.2MPayrollAbove the first apron
By the Thunder Nightly Desk · Saturday, October 3

Thomas Sorber and Otega Oweh are tagged day-to-day, each pointing toward the same date: October 6, when Oklahoma City opens its preseason slate against New Orleans. The regular season follows two weeks later, on October 20 at San Antonio, with the roster still sorting out where its newest names fit.

Thunder Nightly artwork
Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

A Shared Return Date

Sorber, working back from a right knee issue, and Oweh, managing his left lower leg, share the same projected return: October 6. That is also the date Oklahoma City hosts New Orleans for its first preseason outing, giving both players a fixed target instead of an open-ended recovery.

Four Games Before It Counts

The preseason runs four games deep: October 6 against New Orleans, October 7 against Milwaukee, October 12 at Atlanta, and October 13 against Indiana. The regular season opener comes October 20 at San Antonio, airing on NBC and Peacock, the clearest date on the calendar right now.

Three Roles Still Open

McCray V, Zhaire Smith and Andrew Holifield all joined the roster on September 26, and none of the three has a defined role yet. Christoph Tilly's Exhibit 10 deal from September 14 raises a similar question: does it turn into a regular roster spot, or does Tilly follow Lindy Waters out the door to the Beijing Ducks? Camp has to settle all of it before October 20.

When do the Thunder play their first preseason game?

Oklahoma City opens its preseason slate on October 6 against New Orleans, the same return target set for Thomas Sorber and Otega Oweh.

When does the Thunder's regular season begin?

The regular season opens October 20 at San Antonio, airing on NBC and Peacock.

By the Thunder Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.

More from The Bricktown Brief

all Thunder news →
From the archives · Sat, Oct 3From the Archives: The Thread From Westbrook to the Core NowRumor check · Sat, Oct 3Rumor Check: What's Confirmed, What's Still OpenBy the numbers · Fri, Oct 2By the Numbers: Thunder Payroll, Net Rating and Last Season's Margin SqueezeAround the beat · Fri, Oct 2Around the Beat: A Frontcourt Logjam, a Wallace Signal, Mitchell's ClearanceMorning · Fri, Oct 2Clean Bill: Mitchell and Hartenstein Clear Ahead of Thunder CampPlayer focus · Thu, Oct 1Hartenstein's Efficiency Case for a Bigger Workload