The 2018-19 regular season schedule for the Thunder has been released. Prior to the official unveiling on Friday, the league released a portion of the schedule on Wednesday that included the national television schedule for the first week of the season, Christmas Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The Thunder will open up the 2018-19 season on the road against the defending champions as the Warriors receive their championship rings and unveil their championship banner for the 2017-18 season. Oklahoma City will appear on national television quite a few times next season. The Thunder will play on ABC or ESPN a total of 16 times, including three appearances on the NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC and two appearances on the NBA Sunday Showcase on ABC. The team will play on TNT a total of 11 times, including the aforementioned matchup against the Warriors on opening night and a pair of games against the Rockets and Lakers. They have the fourth-most appearances on national television next season. The full 2018-19 regular season schedule can be found on the team’s official website or it can be seen below: Now that the schedule has been released, let’s take a look at the good, bad and the ugly for the 2018-19 regular season.<doc-sep>Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press The Oklahoma City Thunder were one of the biggest winners this offseason. Their Paul George bet paid off, they got out from under Carmelo Anthony's contract and received a usable player in return, and they should slot into the top half of the Western Conference. So the result is a Thunder team that looks a lot like last year's bunch without the looming specter of George's free agency around their necks. Dennis Schroder will come in and essentially be the team's new Reggie Jackson. Their skills sets and self-confidence are almost mirror images of one another. Jerami Grant was handed a $27 million contract to ostensibly be Anthony's replacement, albeit one without the same shooting skill and a much higher defensive potential. The Thunder project as one of the longest, most athletic teams in basketball—and one of the worst shooting ones. George is the only plus three-point shooter in their playoff rotation, which is going to be an issue in April and May. For now, though, let's check out how the Thunder shape up after the schedule was released Friday. Video Play Button Videos you might like 2018-19 Details Season Opener: Oct. 16 at Golden State Warriors, 10:30 p.m. ET Championship Odds: 40-1 (via Odds Shark) Full Schedule: NBA.com Key Matchups Los Angeles Lakers: Jan. 2 Not since Dwight Howard's first return to Los Angeles as a member of the Houston Rockets will we hear more boo birds from Lakers fans than we will for Paul George. The native son of Southern California was as close to a sure thing as possible. Lakers fans—and most media members—believed George would be headed home. LeBron James was the pipe dream, George was the lock. The Lakers never even got a meeting with George, who instead signed a four-year contract to remain in Oklahoma City. He also had some not-so-subtle barbs for the Lakers when discussing his decision. "It's been very stressful. It has not been an easy decision," George said in an ESPN docuseries. "I 100 percent appreciate Laker Nation for wanting me to come back home, for wanting to play in front of them. I wanted to come here a year ago prior to going to OKC. Unfortunately, I wasn't traded to the Lakers. The Lakers didn't grab me. I was traded to Oklahoma. And that has been a beautiful thing for me." Reading through the context: The Lakers didn't want George bad enough last year, so he stuck with the team that did. It's an understandable stance, especially after he and Russell Westbrook grew close. But don't expect Laker Nation, never one to take a slight lightly, to give George a hometown welcome. Houston Rockets: Christmas Day at Toyota Center The Rockets and Thunder have had a natural rivalry ever since OKC traded James Harden to Houston in one of the most fantastic blunders in recent modern sports. The Thunder drafted three of the last four players named MVP; they have just one remaining—and arguably the worst one. Westbrook and Harden is now an interesting debate because you could envision a scenario in which Kevin Durant was still in Oklahoma City if the team had chosen the latter. Westbrook and Durant have a famously cool relationship, while Harden appears to be friendly with all of his ex-teammates. We'd be going too far down an alternative timeline exploring this further, but Thunder fans do get a glimpse of what could have been every time they watch Harden. Oklahoma City also fashions itself as a true contender for a top-two seed in the West this season. If they're going to do that, knocking off Houston is the only way to make it happen. Golden State will be the No. 1 seed this year unless a catastrophic injury wipes out at least two of its Big Four (Five when DeMarcus Cousins returns). The Rockets are a worse team than their 65-win outfit a year ago, swapping out defensive-minded Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute for Carmelo Anthony. The Melo gamble is one that blew up in OKC's face a year ago, so it'll be interesting to see him go against his old foes. Add in the Christmas stage, and we're set for a solid matchup here. Prediction The Thunder are the definition of really good. They have two of the best 20 players in basketball and a stout defensive anchor in the middle who does all the little things. In eras past, this Thunder team might have competed for a Western Conference Finals berth. This isn't eras past, though. Oklahoma City projects as either a No. 3 or No. 4 seed, a clear tier below the Houston Rockets, who themselves are a clear tier below the Golden State Warriors. The Thunder will compete with the Jazz for the 3-4 spot in the West, a battle that will likely come down to which team maneuvers itself furthest away from James' Lakers. It would be a surprise not to see the Thunder trickle up over the 50-win mark this season regardless. Prediction: 52-30<doc-sep>The nation will see the Thunder quite a few times in 2018-19. With the full schedule for the 2018-19 regular season officially released on Friday, the Thunder will make 36 appearances on ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBA TV. The national television standings from the full NBA sked (ABC/ESPN, TNT, NBA TV)… 1: Lakers (43) 2. Golden State (40) t3. Boston, Houston, Philly (39) 4. OKC (36) No other teams are in the 30s (sidenote: San Antonio has 25) — Sam Amick (@sam_amick) August 10, 2018 For the Thunder, they’ll appear on ABC and ESPN a combined 16 times and will be on TNT a total of 11 times. In addition, they’ll also make nine appearances on NBA TV. The team has a couple of tough stretches during the 2018-19 season, as outlined in our schedule breakdown, and a fairly easy stretch to open up the season, as well. With a couple of stars on the team, the nation will be quite familiar with the Thunder.<doc-sep>
OKLAHOMA CITY, Aug. 10, 2018 – The Oklahoma City Thunder announced its 2018-19 regular-season schedule today. The team will start its 11th season on Tuesday, Oct. 16 at Golden State, followed by a trip to the L.A. Clippers on Friday, Oct. 19 before hosting Sacramento for the home opener on Sunday, Oct. 21. Regionally, 70 of the Thunder's 82 regular-season games will be broadcast on FOX Sports Oklahoma, which reaches viewers in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. All games can be heard via the Thunder Radio Network, led by flagship station WWLS-The Sports Animal (98.1 FM) in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City is scheduled to appear on national television at least 27 times during the 2018-19 season. ABC will feature the Thunder on six occasions, TNT 11 times and ESPN 10 times. The Thunder will play 17 home weekend dates comprised of five Fridays, five Saturdays and seven Sundays. Four of the seven Sunday contests will be played at 6 p.m., while the Thunder contest versus the Timberwolves on Dec. 23 will start at 7 p.m., the Jan. 27 game against the Bucks will start at 5 p.m. and the March 31 game versus the Mavericks will tipoff at 2:30 p.m. As previously announced, Oklahoma City will play on Christmas Day for the ninth consecutive season as the team heads to Houston to take on the Rockets on Tuesday, Dec. 25 at 2 p.m., making the Thunder one of two teams (Los Angeles Lakers) to play on Christmas in each of the last nine years. For the 11th time, the Thunder will be at home on the final night of the calendar year when Dallas visits Oklahoma City on Monday, Dec. 31. Oklahoma City will travel to New York for a Martin Luther King Day matchup against the Knicks on Monday, Jan. 21. The Thunder month-by-month breakdown includes six games in October (four home, two road), 15 games in November (eight home, seven road), 15 games in December (five home, 10 away), 14 games in January (seven home, seven road), 11 games in February (six home, five road), 16 games in March (eight home, eight road) and five games in April (three home, two road). Oklahoma City’s schedule includes four three-game road trips in addition to one trip that spans four games. The Thunder will compete in 12 back-to-back sets during the 2018-19 season, consisting of two road/road, two home/road, six road/home and two home/home back-to-backs. Single-game tickets for all Thunder games at Chesapeake Energy Arena will go on sale at 10 a.m. central on Tuesday, Sept. 25, through okcthunder.com/tickets. In order to best serve its regional fan base, tickets sold directly from the team will only be available for purchase by fans in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. Fans interested in tickets for groups of 15 or more are encouraged to call 405.208.HOOP (4667). The team’s entire 2018-19 schedule can be found at okcthunder.com/schedule and on the Thunder Mobile App. Fans can sync the schedule to their calendar at okcthunder.com/download.