The season starts and ends with a familiar Western Conference foe, but in between sit another 80 games that will challenge the Thunder at every turn.
Opening the 2015-16 campaign for the Thunder will be an Oct. 28 clash at Chesapeake Energy Arena against the San Antonio Spurs, followed two nights later by Oct. 30 in Orlando against the Magic. That tilt, the first of 14 single-game road trips, is then followed up with the first of the Thunder’s 16 back-to-back sets of games this season when the team hosts the Denver Nuggets on Nov. 1 and then travels to Houston to play the Rockets on Nov. 2. The Thunder played a total of 18 back-to-backs last season.
A home-heavy schedule follows, as the Thunder hosts seven-of-nine games in Oklahoma City between its Nov. 13 test against the Philadelphia 76ers and its Nov. 27 contest against the Detroit Pistons. That stretch includes a Nov. 25 game, the day before Thanksgiving, against the Brooklyn Nets. During the month of November, the Thunder will tough it out through four sets of back-to-back games.
In December, there is a balance between road and home games, but after a Dec. 17 battle on the second night of a back-to-back in Cleveland against the Cavaliers and a two-game trip to Los Angeles to face the Clippers and Lakers on Dec. 21 and 23, the Thunder will play out its longest home stand of the season with four straight games.
The Thunder will compete on Christmas Day (Dec. 25) for the sixth-straight year, and for the first time at home since 2011 when it hosts the Chicago Bulls in a nationally-televised game. The holiday home stand continues as the Thunder hosts the Denver Nuggets (Dec. 27) and Milwaukee Bucks (Dec. 29) before its eighth-annual “Opening Night” game on New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31) against the Phoenix Suns.
The Thunder kicks off 2016 with a road game on Jan. 2 at Charlotte against the Hornets. After that, the team starts a run of exactly 10 games on the road and 10 games at home in the build-up to All-Star Weekend, concluding with a home game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Feb. 11. This year's All-Star festivities are being hosted in Toronto from Feb. 12-14.
After the week-long All-Star break, the Thunder will host the Indiana Pacers on Feb. 19 and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Feb. 21 to jump start the second half of the schedule. The ensuing weekend, the Thunder will host the defending champion Golden State Warriors for the only time this season on Feb. 27.
One of the Thunder’s longest stretches away from home, four games, starts after that with a Feb. 29 road game in Sacramento against the Kings and ends on March 6 in Milwaukee against the Bucks. Later in the month is a tough three-game home stand, book-ended by a March 22 game against the Houston Rockets and a March 26 clash with the San Antonio Spurs.
From there, the Thunder will close out the season with seven-of-nine games away from home, including a four-game road trip that starts on April 3 against the Houston Rockets and ends in Sacramento against the Kings on April 9. The Thunder’s final home game of the season is on April 11 against the Los Angeles Lakers, with its final tilt of the regular season coming against its first foe of the season, the San Antonio Spurs, on April 12.
The Thunder will again have a full slate of games on national TV, a total of 33, on ABC, TNT, ESPN and NBATV. A total of 71 games can be seen on Fox Sports Oklahoma and every game will be broadcast on the Thunder Radio Network.
Prior to the start of the regular season, the Thunder will play six preseason games, including October 13 in Tulsa vs. the Dallas Mavericks. Be sure to stay at okcthunder.com for more information about the preseason schedule.
Regular Season by the Numbers:
Longest home stand: four games (Dec. 25 – Dec. 31)
Longest road trip: four games (Jan. 22 – Jan. 27, Feb. 29 – March 6 and April 3 – April 9)
16 back to back sets, including four in the month of November
14 one-game road trips
10 Sunday home games
8 Saturday games this season (three at home, five on the road)
7 of 9 games in November at home
7 of 9 games to end the season on the road
71 games on Fox Sports Oklahoma
33 games on national television
10 games on ESPN
9 games on TNT
5 games on ABC
9 games on NBA TV