NBA buys into Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves rivalry as all 4 2025-26 games will be on national TV.
When you win a championship, you become a hot commodity. The Oklahoma City Thunder learned that when the NBA dropped its entire 2025-26 regular season schedule. As the league is in the middle of its driest part of the calendar, it allows folks to dissect the six-month campaign.
The Thunder learned when and where they'll play their opponents. The NBA champion enters the 2025-26 campaign as the consensus favorite to repeat. Easy to see why, too. They had one of the greatest seasons ever and brought back the same cast of characters.
Examining the Thunder's 2025-26 regular-season schedule, the NBA has fully bought into them. They're featured in two of the biggest days with Opening Night and Christmas. They're also tied with the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors and New York Knicks for most national television appearances at 34.
Four of those matchups will be a rematch of the 2025 Western Conference Finals. The Thunder will face off against the Minnesota Timberwolves four times. All will be in front of a national audience. Even though the series ended in a gentleman's sweep, the schedule-makers will bank on the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Edwards rivalry.
The first matchup will be part of the 2025 NBA Cup group play stage. The Thunder will host the Timberwolves on Wednesday, Nov. 26. The game will be broadcast on ESPN. The added stakes of the in-season tournament should only attract more eyeballs.
It won't take much longer afterward for the second matchup to happen. The Thunder will travel to face the Timberwolves on Friday, Dec. 19. The game will be broadcast on Amazon Prime, which will become a new broadcast partner this season.
The penultimate game will also be in Minnesota. The Thunder will travel to play the Timberwolves on Thursday, Jan. 29. That game will also be on Amazon Prime.
And finally, the Thunder will host the Timberwolves in the NBA's primetime slot. They will square off for the fourth time on Sunday, Mar. 15 at 12 p.m. CT. The game will be shown on ABC. It's part of the league's weekly Sunday afternoon games that are traditionally showcased after the Super Bowl.
While the Thunder are the title favorite, the Timberwolves have had two straight Western Conference Finals appearances. Maybe Edwards takes the next leap in his superstardom and closes the gap between the two teams. Either way, all four games should provide entertaining basketball.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: All 4 2025-26 Thunder-Timberwolves games to be on national TV
Category: Basketball
