The Oklahoma City Thunder host the Houston Rockets in the first matchup of tonight's doubleheader on NBC and Peacock.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will try to do something that hasn't been done in the NBA since 2018 — repeat as champion.

Warriors are feeling good heading into the opener. The group seems focused and loose pregame. Steve Kerr liked the progress he saw throughout training camp and he likes the group has on paper. There is a confidence the Warriors felt throughout camp — now they want to see that when the games start counting for real.

The irony of the 2025-26 NBA season is that it is simultaneously extremely predictable and an unpredictable mess. We can say pretty confidently who's going to be at the top. The Thunder are leaps and bounds ahead of the field on paper.

The Oklahoma City Thunder captured their first NBA championship since moving to Oklahoma, and now Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and crew are the favorites to do it again in 2025-26. The Thunder open as championship favorites,