Who will OKC Thunder face in first round of NBA playoffs? Ranking possible opponents

The top-seeded OKC Thunder will look to win its second straight NBA championship.

OKC’s title defense begins with the first round of the playoffs, which starts with Game 1 at 2:30 p.m. CT Sunday inside Paycom Center (ABC). And it’ll learn its opponent following the conclusion of the play-in tournament.

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The Phoenix Suns will host the Portland Trail Blazers at 9 p.m. CT Tuesday for the seventh seed. The loser will then host the winner of the Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors at 9 p.m. Friday for the eight seed and the right to face OKC.

Here’s how the Thunder’s four possible first-round opponents rank from the easiest to toughest matchup:

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Ranking OKC Thunder opponents for first round of NBA playoffs

Golden State has the most championship experience on this list. That’s a big strength come playoff time, but the Warriors wouldn’t have many other advantages in a first-round matchup with the Thunder.

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Golden State doesn’t have a ton of reliable scoring options outside of Stephen Curry, who’d be swarmed by players such as Cason Wallace, Lu Dort and Alex Caruso all series. And the rest of its turnover-prone offense would also struggle against OKC’s defensive pressure.

The Warriors wouldn’t have a ton of answers for the Thunder’s offense either, especially Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. I’d expect OKC to complete the sweep without too much trouble.

Prediction: Thunder in 4

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Portland hasn’t been in the playoffs since 2021. But if it can snap that streak, it’d present a slightly bigger challenge to OKC than Golden State.

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The Trail Blazers rank 11th in the NBA in defensive weapons, and they have some standout players on that end of the floor. From Jrue Holiday to Toumani Camara to Donovan Clingan, it’s a group that would present some problems both inside and outside the arc.

Portland excels at creating turnovers and converting them into points, but that’ll be difficult to do against an OKC offense that takes great care of the ball. And if the Trail Blazers are forced to rely on their halfcourt offense, I don’t see them making this much of a series.

Prediction: Thunder in 4

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Los Angeles began the season 6-21, and yet it found a way to climb into the play-in tournament. Part of that process included retooled the roster, sending out James Harden and Ivica Zubac while adding Darius Garland and Bennedict Mathurin.

Garland has played well since joining the Clippers, and he’ll be leaned on to take some scoring pressure off of Kawhi Leonard. Mathurin has also shown that he can catch fire.

But it’s still hard to imagine Los Angeles, the third-slowest team in the NBA, keeping up with OKC. I think Leonard would will the Clippers to one win before the Thunder completed the gentleman’s sweep.

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Prediction: Thunder in 5

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I don’t think any of the play-in teams would make it a long first-round series for OKC. But when it comes to which squad would challenge the Thunder the most, it’s the Suns.

Phoenix ranks 10th in the NBA in defensive rating, and it can certainly muck up a game with physical players at every position. The Suns also have an elite scorer in Devin Booker and a few other scoring options such as Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green.

Of course, all of that can be said about OKC as well. It’s a better team across the board, which is why I think it’d win this series in five games. But some of those wins would be close ones against a Phoenix squad that’d put up a good fight.

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Prediction: Thunder in 5

Justin Martinez covers the Thunder and NBA for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Justin? He can be reached at jmartinez@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @Justintohoops. Sign up for the Thunder Sports Minute newsletter to access more NBA coverage. Support Justin’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Ranking OKC Thunder’s possible 2026 NBA Playoffs first-round opponents