Thunder out to stay unbeaten vs. visiting Kings Tuesday night.
The Oklahoma City Thunder remain undefeated through their first three games of the season and will look to keep that run alive Tuesday when hosting the Sacramento Kings, who have gone 1-2, at Paycom Center.
Here are five things to know ahead of tip-off (8 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass).
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander picking it up right where he left off: The reigning MVP is enjoying a dominant start to the 2025-26 NBA season. Gilgeous-Alexander delivered 30 points (12-17 FG, 2-6 3Pt, 4-4 FT), five assists, four rebounds, one steal and one block over 29 minutes during the Thunder’s 117-100 win over the Hawks on Saturday. Through three games this season, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 40 points per game, and he’s going to be the Thunder’s go-to player Monday against the Mavericks as well. Even though that pace is an unsustainable one all season, defenses have had a hard time trying to slow him down.
- Can the Thunder slow Sabonis? After missing the first game of the season, Sabonis has returned to form as a double-double machine. The two-time defending double-doubles leader has reached that mark in each of his first two outings this season, including a 10-point, 14-rebound outing in Sunday’s narrow loss to the Lakers. The Thunder’s bigs will certainly have their work cut out for them in preventing Sabonis from dominating the glass and the interior scoring.
- OKC’s depth is delivering again: Having the likes of Ajay Mitchell, Cason Wallace, Aaron Wiggins and Jaylin Williams in the mix allows the Thunder to rest some of their best players on prolonged stretches — even if reliable contributors such as Alex Caruso (concussion) and Jalen Williams (wrist) aren’t expected to be available Tuesday.
- The frontcourt battle is one to watch: Gilgeous-Alexander is going to make a difference in the backcourt and is expected to carry the Thunder in this game. However, the real battle will probably happen in the frontcourt, where Domantas Sabonis will square up against Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. If the Thunder’s frontcourt duo can deal with the threat of Sabonis effectively, this should make things easier for the Thunder. The Kings have strong perimeter and mid-range options in Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, but Sabonis is the foundation on both ends.
- The Thunder have the edge in recent head-to-head matchups: The Thunder swept the Kings in the 2024-25 regular season. However, their edge on head-to-head matchups is bigger than that. The Thunder have won each of their previous five games against Sacramento, though it’s worth noting the Kings held a five-game winning run against Oklahoma City prior to that. Plus, the Thunder have recorded double-digit wins in four of the five contests during their ongoing five-game winning streak.
