OKC Thunder Should be Heavily Featured on NBA Marquee Dates

The NBA will soon announce the regular season schedule, as is tradition, in the middle of August. Oklahoma City should be littered across the league's National TV dates and biggest showcases the sport has to offer.

It not only makes sense due to the Thunder's track record of success with this core as defending NBA Champions, but logistically as well.

The Most Important Dates/Games on NBA Calendar:

• Opening Night (10/21)
• Christmas Day (12/25)
• MLK Jr. Day (1/19)
• ABC Saturday Night (Typically Begins in January)
• ABC Sunday Afternoon (Begins After the NFL Season)

Opening Night is a Lock

Oklahoma City is granted a spot on opening night as a result of winning the NBA championship. Each season, the league puts a Tuesday double header on National TV to tip off the season in late October and this year's date is set for Oct. 21. Typically, this includes an Eastern Conference clash and Western Conference bout, with ring night being part of the festivities for the champions.

This will be the first time the Thunder get to partake in the opening night festivities as NBA Champions, dropping a title banner and dishing out rings to its roster that is comprised of 14 returning members from its 15 standard contract group a year ago.

Christmas Day is a Must

The Thunder have to make its return to the Christmas Day slate. Oklahoma City was once a staple of the Holiday hoops session, playing on Christmas Day. The Thunder have played in nine Christmas Day games, all coming in a stretch from the 2010-11 campaign through the 2018-19 season.

It was shocking to see Oklahoma City excluded from the Holiday slate a year ago after Summer blockbusters in the offseason and being widely regarded as the favorites to win the Championship before fulfilling that prophecy. This season, it should be an easy decision for the league to place the Thunder on this stage.

On top of the Thunder being the best team in basketball, there are a ton of money making matchups that make sense for the league to promote on this day as they head up against the NFL's slate of games.

The Christmas Day lineup spans from 11 AM CT through midnight with the final game tipping off at 9:30 PM CT. Oklahoma City can fill into any timeslot, unlike most teams.

If the league needs a top-billing for the nightcap? Who wouldn't want to watch Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander battle it out as the two most recent MVPs and favorites to bag another one this year?

What about the early morning shift? It is tradition to see the New York Knicks tip off the Christmas Day schedule in the Garden and pitting the Thunder against the Broadway ballers would be an easy sell to casual NBA fans with these two contenders battling it out.

Though you can't forget about the mid-day and early evening time slot, which typically includes the central time zone and the Pacific time zone. Why not toss the Thunder against the Rockets and see Kevin Durant return to Bricktown as an afternoon gift to NBA fans, getting to watch two of the best teams out West compete?

Between the possible matchups to placate TV partners and the Thunder being the best team in the world coming off a championship, it would be criminal for the NBA to leave them off the Christmas Day lineup.

The Others

The NBA has made MLK Jr. Day a massive product. The league does a great job of being educational and entertaining as the NBA showcases communities on this date while having a full day of hoops similar to the Christmas Day lineup. It is a tentpole date for the league to showcase its product and community outreach efforts. The Thunder check both boxes with their heavy investment into Bricktown while also playing a great brand of basketball.

With the Memphis Grizzlies having this traditional date stolen from them as the NBA ships the Grizzlies overseas to grow the league's global brand, that opens up at least one slot to shoehorn the Thunder into a National stage.

There isn't a true rhythm or reason for the Sunday afternoon and Saturday night lineups outside of the league's love affair with superstars and big markets that typically see the NBA stuff the calendar full of National TV dates for the Knicks, LeBron James' Lakers, Steph Curry's Warriors, etc.

The Thunder's sustained greatness and rostering a fun young core that includes two All-NBA players, a potential first time All-Star in Chet Holmgren and the most complete roster in the NBA, should make them an easy target to place on these dates paired with the aforementioned big markets and stars.