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Will The Thunder Secure The First Seed In The West Standings?
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Will The Thunder Secure The First Seed In The West Standings?

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports
By Paul Daniel Flores  |  Last updated Mar 26, 2026 9:00 AM ET

Following their loss to the Boston Celtics, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s standings in the West are fragile, with more doubts on their chances to secure the first seed. Now that their 12-game winning streak is snapped, many hope to see better games from OKC with nine games left to play. After all, the San Antonio Spurs are starting to gain on them, and it’s definitely going to play a huge role in the playoffs as well.

It hasn’t been exactly a dominant season for Oklahoma City. They were struggling with injuries, battling some shooting slumps, and so on. It’s also worth noting that it has been a while since they were able to crush their opponents with huge scoring. It’s safe to say that this Thunder team isn’t as strong as last season. But can they still repeat as champions?

Will The Thunder Secure The First Seed In the West Standings?

For that to be a reality, it seems that securing the first seed is a priority. In fact, this season has been quite a rollercoaster for them. At one point, they were making history with a 24-1 start. Then they were struggling to make it to the All-Star Break while sitting atop the West. Now, it seems that they’re going for a dogfight with the San Antonio Spurs for the first seed.

The current Thunder standings can be disappointing for some. What many hoped to be a historic run that would break records turned out to be a disastrous campaign. In fact, that game against Boston is the first time we’ve seen them healthy for the whole season. Now they’re going to race for the top in the final nine games.

Looking Ahead for OKC’s Games

Heading into a five-game home stand, OKC must win all of its final games. In the first five, the Thunder will face three playoff contenders in that span. The final five games, however, look to be tougher with the same distribution. This just means that the Thunder may need to grind to come up with wins just to keep a two-game lead against the Spurs.

In total, OKC would have six games against contenders and two against non-playoff teams. This is certainly not an ideal thing, considering the importance of the playoff positioning. For most of the season, it looked like the Thunder would be running away with the top seed once more.

However, injuries and inconsistencies have become quite an issue for most of the campaign. Somehow, Oklahoma City managed to endure and still hold on to the first seed in spite of those issues.

To compare, the Spurs will be playing a total of five contender teams in the final stretch. This just means that they can definitely close the gap against OKC for the top seed. The worst-case scenario would be San Antonio overtaking the Thunder for the first seed in the West by the end of the season.

Will OKC Rest Its Players?

Here comes the tricky part of the final stretch of the season. Jalen Williams has just been playing two games since missing a ton of games due to a hamstring injury and recovering from his wrist surgery. Ajay Mitchell is still acclimating to the lineup after an extended absence forced him out as well. As the top seed in the Western Conference, it does make sense for Oklahoma City to actually rest its players and save them for the playoff chase.

However, inconsistent play and a still lack of a sure playoff lineup mean more games need to be played. The fact that they will be battling for the top seed is another thing to keep in mind as well. Even Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could not afford to miss games until the last four. As of the time of writing, he’s at 61 games played this season. This means he’s four games short of the NBA’s 65-game minimum for individual awards.

What To Expect In The Thunder’s Final Games?

It’s fair to say that fans will be expecting the Thunder to go 9-1 in their final 10 games (including the loss to the Celtics). However, wins would be hard to determine once the Thunder decides to sit out its best players. With all the injuries we’ve seen so far this season, it’s easy to expect that OKC will hope to avoid more potential injuries in the final stretch.

However, that also means the Thunder potentially giving up the first seed in the standings to the Spurs. That’s still not a bad deal to begin with, but not having the homecourt advantage in a potential Thunder-Spurs clash may hurt them in the long run.

Whatever the final stretch of the season may turn out to be, expect OKC to go out swinging. We’ve seen them fight hard for the top seed in the previous seasons. Prioritizing the health of its players, however, may be a bigger win than having home court advantage.

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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