OKLAHOMA CITY — An opportunistic bit of NBA scheduling has produced a perfect storm, ensuring that the front door of the 2025-26 season will blow open Tuesday with gusto.

This creation was made possible and even necessary by multiple conspiring forces: A new network partner (NBC/Peacock) excited to debut, the reigning NBA championship team ready to be fitted for rings and, mainly, an all-time great player strategically placed on the opposite bench, in a basketball city he helped build.

And so, we have arrived here for an Opening Night game ready to be unleashed ( 7:30 ET, NBC & Peacock ). This goes deeper than the Oklahoma City Thunder raising a banner to the arena ceiling in a final celebration of its first title. It goes beyond the recharged Houston Rockets, these Game 1 visitors,

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