If you're hoping to see the Oklahoma City Thunder return to action, you may need to wait a day. They're taking it easy with their 2026-27 preseason opener. On the front end of a back-to-back, they're rolling out the B squad in front of the Tulsa fanbase at BOK Center.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault dropped a laundry list of players who will sit out on Tuesday, Oct. 6, against the New Orleans Pelicans. He said Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, Chet Holmgren, Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace, Nikola Topic and Thomas Sorber will not play. Although, they plan to make the 90-minute trip to Tulsa.
The first six names make sense. Meanwhile, Topic and Sorber remain out as they're limited in NBA training camp. Looks like their
return-to-play has seeped over to OKC's preseason schedule. The plan is for the main rotation to play in Wednesday's preseason game against the Milwaukee Bucks at OKC.
That means expect a starting lineup of Ajay Mitchell, Jared McCain, Jaylin Williams, Kenrich Williams and Aday Mara for Tulsa. Or something like that. Even though that's technically OKC's backup team, it's still a worthy price of admission. Especially considering how laissez-faire a preseason environment can be.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Several OKC Thunder players to sit out Tulsa 2026-27 preseason opener
