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A decade after the Warriors went from 24-1 to 73-9, the 2025-26 Oklahoma City Thunder are poised to set some new records.

Today’s Lineup

🎉 Happy birthday to Randy Smith, Bob Pettit, and Kyshawn George! 🎉

Game Recaps

Thunder beat Suns 138-89 in Cup quarterfinal, tie 2015-16 Warriors for best 25-game start

With a forty-point blowout of the Suns during which their top talent barely missed a shot, the Thunder simultaneously tied the record for the best 25-game start in NBA history and advanced to the NBA Cup semifinals.

Who’s got it better than OKC? (Hint: No one.)

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (28 PTS, 8 AST, 11-15 FG) and Chet Holmgren (24 PTS, 8 REB, 9-13 FG) played nearly flawless offensive games in the quarterfinal match against Phoenix, with Ousmane Dieng (11 PTS, 3-4 3PT) and Lu Dort (12 PTS, 3-6 3PT) sniping from the three-point line at their usual rate. Holmgren also led the way on defense, mirroring his and SGA’s offensive execution with block after block against the Suns (still without Devin Booker after a groin strain took him out earlier this month.)

Speaking of Phoenix, they struggled to get anything going on offense thanks to OKC’s signature tight defense and were led in scoring by Dillon Brooks’ 16 PTS. With the Thunder’s dominance showing up on both sides of the ball at this level, it’s hard to imagine them losing more than a handful of games the whole season…

…

…did we jinx it yet?

Castle + Fox help Spurs take down Lakers 132-119, advance to Cup semis

Even without The Alien, Stephon Castle showed the world that the Spurs are a squad to be reckoned with in their quarterfinal game against Luka Doncic and LeBron James.

Castle (30 PTS, 10 REB, 6 AST, 10-14 FG) led the young Spurs in scoring, but it was the combination of De’Aaron Fox (20 PTS, 3 AST, 2 STL) and 2024 No. 4 overall pick in San Antonio’s backcourt that did the Lakers in. Luka had 11 in the first quarter and finished with an impressive line (35 PTS, 8 AST, 5 REB), but the Spurs had grabbed the lead by the start of the second quarter and didn’t look back, leading the entire game from then on out.

A Lakers surge in the fourth quarter fueled in part by Marcus Smart (12 PTS, 4-6 3PT in 4Q) cut the lead to single digits, but San Antonio effectively neutralized both Austin Reaves (15 PTS, 6-16 FG, 2-6 3PT) and James (19 PTS, 0-3 3PT) to advance to the West Cup semifinal against Oklahoma City.

By the way, we may see Wemby vs. Chet on Saturday. More on that later. 👀

Elsewhere around the NBA:

• An Amen Thompson (20 PTS, 9 REB, 8 AST) and-one with 17 seconds left lifted the Rockets over the Clippers 115-113 at home last night after a back-and-forth affair that saw Houston control most of the first half and Los Angeles take control after the break. Ivica Zubac (33 PTS, 7 REB, 13-14 FG) absolutely dominated down low despite LA’s losing effort.

• The Pelicans took down the Trail Blazers 143-120 thanks to standout performances from Trey Murphy III (24 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST, 3 STL, 10-13 FG) and Bryce McGowens (23 PTS, 7 REB). Sidy Cissoko had a career-high 20 PTS for Portland while Shaedon Sharpe (21 PTS) led the show.

• It was an early Christmas feast for Milwaukee’s forwards—Kyle Kuzma (31 PTS, 6 REB) and Bobby Portis (27 PTS, 10 REB) brought the Bucks to a 116-101 win over Jaylen Brown (30 PTS) and the Celtics. Gary Trent Jr. (13 PTS, 3-6 3PT) and Ryan Rollins (10 PTS, 2-4 3PT) also contributed to the Bucks’ overall hot shooting night (13-29/44.8% 3PT).

NBA Cup Semifinals

We’re down to four squads still competing for the 2025 NBA Cup! Let’s go over both matchups before Saturday’s semifinal doubleheader in Las Vegas: ⬇️

East: New York Knicks vs. Orlando Magic (Saturday, 5:30 ET)

New York, New York! The Knicks rolled their way through their quarterfinal game against the Raptors and are poised to continue winning their way up the Eastern Conference standings.

Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns are the obvious top two in the Big Apple, but the Knicks were without key pieces Miles McBride and Landry Shamet against the Raptors and current reports suggest neither will be available for the rest of the Cup. With a depleted bench behind guys like Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart, the shorthanded Knicks might need to throw it back to a little Thibodeau energy and leave it all out on the court.

Meanwhile, the Magic will be without Franz Wagner (left ankle sprain) for the foreseeable future, but Paolo Banchero is back from his own injury and played a great second fiddle to Desmond Bane during the latter’s 37-point explosion in Orlando’s Cup quarterfinal against Miami. Even with injuries plaguing their top talent so far this season, the Magic have found ways to win with a rotating cast of top scorers and invaluable help on the margins from guys like Tristan Da Silva and Anthony Black.

Paolo, Bane, and Suggs going up against Brunson, KAT, and Mikal. Give us your predictions!

West: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs (Saturday, 9 ET)

Saturday night ends with a fantastic Western Conference matchup!

On one side, the Oklahoma City Thunder are looking to extend their historic start to the 2025-26 season and clinch a berth to the Cup final in the process. On the other, the San Antonio Spurs have pieced together a winning squad even without Wemby and are looking to play spoiler on the backs of Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox.

Speaking of him, one of the biggest storylines regarding this game is one that’s still unknown—whether or not Victor Wembanyama (left calf strain) will be able to rejoin the team for their semifinal matchup against Oklahoma City. Spurs HC Mitch Johnson said Wemby could be available for the semifinal game (”very much so”) and that the staff will “have to see how he responds and reacts” moving forward.

With Wemby on the court, the Spurs have a much clearer path towards wriggling out of the Thunder’s tenacious defensive pressure—not to mention how much more dynamic Wemby makes San Antonio’s offense. But even without their star, the Spurs have shown that they can take down top-tier talent.

This Thunder team, though? Call it top-top-top-top-top-tier.

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Three in the Key

Signing Off

It’s been a snowy few weeks all across the country—be sure to stay inside and watch plentyyyyy of basketball this weekend to stay warm. Peace out! ✌️

Austin Zeglis