Week Ahead: Three Preseason Games Before the Trip to San…

By the Thunder Nightly Desk · Sunday, October 4

Oklahoma City is 0-0 with the regular season not yet underway, and three preseason games fill the week ahead. Thomas Sorber and Otega Oweh are both day-to-day, with estimated returns that line up with the first of those games.

Three Games Before Kickoff

The week opens with a true back-to-back: the Thunder host the Pelicans on October 6 and the Bucks on October 7, playing on consecutive nights before five days off the schedule. The trip to Atlanta on October 12 is the lone true road game this week, and the lone look at the Hawks before the preseason winds down. None of the three carries playoff weight; wins and losses from here do not touch the 0-0 record. The regular season opener comes October 20 at San Antonio, broadcast on NBC and Peacock, a reminder that the stretch that counts starts there, not this week.

Same Return Date Different Issues

Thomas Sorber's knee injury and Otega Oweh's lower leg issue both carry an estimated return of October 6, the date of the Pelicans game and the first of this week's three. Both are currently tagged day-to-day, the same designation Jalen Williams carried before he cleared camp on September 25. If the return estimates hold, both players would be available for the games covered here, closing out two of the only open health questions on the roster heading into the back half of preseason.

Atlanta Is the Real Test

Home games against the Pelicans and Bucks carry little beyond reps. Atlanta is different: it is the only true road environment the Thunder see this week, and the last competitive look before the trip to San Antonio eight days later for the regular season opener. Everything on this stretch is preseason tuning, not playoff positioning. The bar for comparison is last season's: a 64-18 finish built on a league-best 11.1 net rating, anchored by the NBA's top-ranked defense. Matching that pace starts with how this roster looks in three low-stakes games before the record resets to 0-0 for real on October 20.

When do the Thunder play next?

Oklahoma City hosts the Pelicans on October 6 and the Bucks on October 7, then travels to face the Hawks on October 12, all preseason games before the October 20 regular season opener at San Antonio.

Who is injured for the Thunder right now?

Thomas Sorber (knee) and Otega Oweh (lower leg) are both listed day-to-day, with an estimated return of October 6 for each.

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.