We’ve got ourselves a very rare situation here. The Utah Jazz, a team sitting just one-half game outside of the Western Conference Play-In borderline, are squaring off against the reigning NBA champions and stakeholders in the Jazz’s first-round pick, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Thunder jumped way ahead of schedule last season, launching from a scrappy rising army from one of the league’s smallest markets to a full-blown, roid-raging juggernaut complete with an MVP point guard, rising stars snagged through the draft, and a deep store of veteran pillars holding up the foundation.
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OKC jumped the line last season and captured their first championship since gutting the Pacific Northwest and robbing Seattle of their beloved Supersonics (I will never forgive them for this, by the way). This season, they seem poised to do just the same, winning all but one of the 23 games that led them to this point. Against Utah, however, they’re letting their foot off the gas, resting their stars, and opening a lane for a Jazz upset on Sunday night.
Just take a gander at the Thunder’s injury report, which includes the nameless cousin of Jazz legend Nikeil Alexander-Walker, defensive ace Elmer Fudd (a.k.a. Alex Caruso), Lu Dort donning basketball sneakers plus football pads, and Isaiah Hartenstein, the only man burly enough to face the Bosnian Beast, Jusuf Nurkic. The brother of pre-larval superstar Cody Williams, Jalen Williams, will be available in this game, graciously enough for Utah.
Utah and Oklahoma City are playing tug-of-war with the Jazz’s first-round pick this year. Thanks to their unexpected win total, Utah would concede their first-rounder to the Thunder thanks to a thoughtless Derrick Favors salary dump from years ago. Stuck in drafting purgatory, the Jazz want to use that first to build an army not entirely dissimilar to Oklahoma City, but may just have too many winning plays in the storehouse.
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Is Oklahoma’s resting of superstars sincere, a chance to ease up against a lesser team, or even an effort to boost their own draft capital? If Utah wins, that fateful draft pick takes one step closer to OKC. If the Thunder win, what difference does that make right now?
With OKC’s side diminished, how does Utah respond on the injury report? Well, Lauri Markkanen may be absent in this one, so that’s basically equal value for SGA if you ask me.
Keyonte George remains off the injury list, along with Ace Bailey. With the Thunder hampered, tonight could be the perfect conditions for a Bailey breakout. But I dream.
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Utah’s streak of unpredictability could very well lead to a Jazz victory against the reigning champs. We’ll just have to see how this all plays out.
How to watch Utah Jazz vs Oklahoma City Thunder:
Date: Sunday, December 8, 2025
Time: 6:00 PM MT
Location: Delta Center, Salt Lake City, UT
Channel: Jazz+, KJZZ
Odds: OKC -11.5
