Bench players gained valuable reps in the season's final loss, prioritizing rest and playoff readiness over a meaningless win.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, with nothing to play for on Sunday night in the final game of the regular season, took on the Phoenix Suns and fell 135-103. But luckily for OKC, the No. 1 seed and the best record in the NBA had already been solidified, which is why it was primarily bench players taking the floor to get additional reps they really had not had the chance to get for the majority of the season.
Despite the Thunder having a high injury frequency and many players missing time throughout the 2025-26 campaign, extended run at this volume was hard to find for many of the players at the end of the bench and for the two-way guys who primarily spent time in the G League.
And despite losing by more than 30, again, this game had no impact on playoff positioning for the Thunder. So it was still, in essence, a win given the objective was experience while the primary players who will be taking the floor in the postseason got to rest.
In terms of who did play well for the Thunder, Branden Carlson had another nice game with a 26-point, 10-rebound double-double. Peyton Sanford added 23 points, so the pair of two-way players led the team in scoring. Nikola Topic had 18 points and 14 assists as he continues to show future promise. Kenrich Williams added 13 points. Only four other players saw the floor for the Thunder, and none of them scored in double figures.
So from here, the Thunder will get about a week of rest while the play-in tournament unfolds and OKC’s first-round playoff opponent is finalized. In the meantime, it is all about getting ready for the playoffs. The regular season is officially over.