The Golden State Warriors are about to pass through the valley of the shadow of death. Well, at least the Group of Death of the Emirates Cup apparently. Per Sports Illustrated, “In this year’s NBA Cup, the Group of Death feels like it’s pretty clearly West Group C, featuring the Nuggets, Warriors, Rockets and Spurs. The Nuggets are championship contenders, the Rockets are freshly reloaded with Kevin Durant leading the charge, the Warriors can win on any given night, and the Spurs are off to an undefeated start behind what looks like the first of, I don’t know, maybe 10 straight MVP seasons coming from Victor Wembanyama. Of those four teams, just one will be guaranteed a spot in the knockout round, while a second could sneak in as a wild card.“
Oh wow. Wellp, let’s see what the Dubs do with the reigning defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder!
Golden State Warriors at Oklahoma City Thunder
When: November 11th, 2025 | 8:00 PM ET
TV: NBCSBA, FDSN OK
Radio: 95.7 The Game
Location: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Let’s talk about beautiful redemptions, Dub Nation. The Warriors (6-5) roll into Oklahoma City to face the champs (10-1), and the poetry is almost too perfect. Remember when I wrote the Thunder’s obituary back in 2018? When we called them “bitter jabronis” whose best player defected to join the very team that eliminated them? Yeah, about that.
Seven years ago, Kevin Durant’s departure felt like the final nail. The Warriors built a dynasty by doing everything OKC couldn’t, keeping their core together while the Thunder fumbled away Durant, Westbrook, and Harden through cost-cutting and poor timing. We thought that was the end of the story.
Instead, Sam Presti played the longest of long games. After trading away Westbrook and Paul George in 2019, he accumulated draft capital and built something more sustainable than what came before. The result? Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averaging 33.2 points per game for a championship team that posted an 84-21 record last season, tying the 1996-97 Bulls for third-most wins in NBA history.
Now the Warriors arrive depleted, riding a five-game road losing streak and wondering how Stephen Curry’s body can recover from his illness. It’s the kind of scheduling irony that feels deliberately cruel. Golden State just posted their largest victory margin of the season (31 points) against Indiana, the biggest win without Curry since he entered the league in 2009. But that was at Chase Center, where they’re undefeated.
On the road? They’ve been getting bodied.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma City is doing things that make you double-check the stats. They lead the NBA in defensive rating (104.5) and net rating (+13.5) despite playing without Jalen Williams all season and winning three of four without Chet Holmgren. This isn’t the Thunder trying to recreate what they had. This is something entirely new.
What’s hilarious? Recognizing that the hole we thought we buried them in wasn’t their grave. It was their foundation. Sometimes the most devastating losses create the most beautiful redemptions. Tuesday night, the Warriors get to see exactly what rose from the ashes they left behind.
