Oklahoma City has returned to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2016.

It was almost ten years ago since the last time the Oklahoma City Thunder came this near to achieving their main objective of winning an NBA Championship. They accomplished this feat by defeating the Denver Nuggets in a decisive Game 7 held on Sunday. This victory represents the first triumph over a strong playoff opponent for this iteration of the Thunder, marking significant progress for its promising youthful roster.

The Thunder delved deeply, absorbed valuable lessons, and eventually relied on their traditionally stellar defense to advance past the second round and keep their playoff push alive. Nevertheless, they now find themselves venturing into unfamiliar ground.

Not only is this a stage this core group has never been on –– sans Alex Caruso en route to an NBA Championship in the bubble –– but the scheduling quirk adds a unique wrinkle as well.

So far, the Oklahoma City Thunder have consistently benefited from this waiting period. They spent more than seven days awaiting the conclusion of the NBA Play-in tournament during each of the past two opening rounds, ultimately sweeping these matches until the No. 4 versus No. 5 seed showdowns were settled in both recent seasons.

It’s time for the Thunder to face the Timberwolves, who have patiently waited their turn. Minnesota swiftly defeated Golden State in just five matches and hasn’t played since Wednesday, May 14 at the Target Center.

That is a full five days off, compared to the Thunder who just played on Sunday.

However, Oklahoma City enjoyed two days off prior to that tilt, so in reality Oklahoma City has played one game in the past four days.

Ultimately, rest shouldn’t play a part in this every-other-day series and fatigue will not factor into anyone’s mind on the court as each player chases that elusive championship.

“We are going to get prepared as well as we can. Take what we need, get healthy, get right, fuel back up and get ready to go and back at it again,” Thunder defensive ace Cason Wallace said simply when asked about this new dynamic after Monday’s practice.

The Western Conference Finals tips off on Tuesday, May 20 inside the Paycom Center as the Oklahoma City Thunder play host to the Minnesota TImberwolves on ESPN.

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OKC Thunder Face Unique Situation in Western Conference Finals

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