OKC Thunder will have pair of 10 p.m. CT tipoff games during 2025-26 regular season

The NBA will soon begin a new broadcast era. Starting in the 2025-26 regular season, the league has moved from longtime partner TNT to NBC. It's a move many fans hope brings fresh changes to how games are presented.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will make history on Opening Night. Because they're the NBA champions, they will kick off the 2025-26 regular season as they host the Houston Rockets. That means they'll be the first home team featured in the new NBA on NBC era.

The Thunder will hold a pregame ceremony where they drop their championship banner and get handed their rings. All in front of Kevin Durant, who will make his debut for his new team.

Considering the Thunder are viewed as the consensus title favorite, expect them to be a mainstay on the NBA and Peacock broadcast. They're tied with the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors and New York Knicks for most national television games this upcoming season at 34.

That will entail a couple of late-night games where Thunder fans might need to either sacrifice some sleep or catch the highlights the next morning on their way to school or work. Later than usual, even.

One of the ways the NBA hopes to give its broadcast a new feel is a later start time than usual for some games. NBC will have “Coast 2 Coast Tuesday" every week in the regular season. Meaning the second leg of a Tuesday night NBA doubleheader will begin at 10 p.m. CT instead of 9:30 p.m. CT.

The Thunder will have a couple of 10 p.m. CT games that will be part of that in their 2025-26 regular season. Both road games are in California. They will travel to face the LA Clippers on Tuesday, Nov. 4. They will then face the Warriors on Tuesday, Dec. 2.

It'll be the first time the Thunder have had games that start at 10 p.m. CT or later. Previously, the latest they had was 9:30 p.m. CT. The Clippers and Warriors should be viable enough teams to make it worth the hassle of staying up for.

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: OKC Thunder will have pair of 10 p.m. CT games during 2025-26 season