The last time we saw the Oklahoma City Thunder [https://roundtable.io/sports/nba/thunder] in action was on May 30th. That was the date of the heartbreaking Game 7 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. In reality, that's just over four months ago. In the minds of OKC fans, it has felt like an eternity. Well, the Thunder hoops drought finally ends this week. The new look Oklahoma City squad tips off their preseason schedule on Tuesday night versus the New Orleans Pelicans. The game will take place at the BOK Center as the Thunder make their annual visit up I-44 to Tulsa. The yearly trip is the ideal way to connect the entire state's beloved team to fans in its second biggest city. Thunder fans in Oklahoma City won't have to wait long to welcome their team back home at The Paycom Center. The Thunder host the Milwaukee Bucks the very next night as their preseason oddly opens on a back to back set. Even weirder, there is a five day wait until the third preseason game at the Atlanta Hawks after the back to back openers. To top off the scheduling strangeness, that game is also the first of another back to back set. The second in the set is a home contest against the Indiana Pacers. Finally, OKC closes their preseason with a visit to the Houston Rockets. While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren will be the headline names once the regular season starts, the young guys have a chance to catch the spotlight in the preseason. These games will be the first opportunity for OKC fans to see rookies Aday Mara, Bennett Stritz and Otega Oweh in action with their Thunder teammates. Nikola Topic and Thomas Sorber may not be ready for on court action quite yet, though they are getting close. Preseason basketball doesn't count in the record books. Nobody has any idea how much or little the starters and regular rotation players will play any given night. Some of the players in the preseason rotation will never see any regular season minutes in a Thunder jersey. But none of that matters to OKC fans right now. Because only one thing matters to OKC fans right now. Thunder basketball is finally back. Oklahoma City Thunder Preseason Schedule New Orleans Pelicans @ Oklahoma City Thunder. Tuesday, October 6. 7PM. Milwaukee Bucks @ Oklahoma City Thunder. Wednesday, October 7. 7PM. Oklahoma City Thunder @ Atlanta Hawks. Monday, October 12. 6PM. Indiana Pacers @ Oklahoma City Thunder. Tuesday, October 13. 7PM. Oklahoma City Thunder @ Houston Rockets. Thursday, October 15. 7:30PM.
