After a week's wait, the Oklahoma City Thunder finally learned their Round 1 opponent of the 2026 NBA playoffs. They will face the eighth-seed Phoenix Suns. Like the last two years, they had to wait out the play-in tournament to figure out their matchup.The Thunder finishes with an NBA-best 64-18 regular-season record and plus-11.1 point differential.

Expect Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to win back-to-back MVP awards. Carrying over their dominance from last year, they enter as the title favorite.Meanwhile, the Suns continue to enjoy being one of the best feel-good stories. They went an impressive 45-37 in the regular season.

They clinched a playoff spot in a do-or-die scenario with a 111-96 win over the Golden State Warriors.In their season series, the Thunder had a 3-2 record against the Suns in five matchups. Let's look back at all five games as they prepare to battle it out in the 2026 NBA playoffs:Nov. 28. 2025: Thunder 123, Suns 119Holding off the Suns, the Thunder added to their historic regular-season start with a close win. Not only did this count toward the NBA Cup group play, but it also marked Jalen Williams' season debut.

He missed the first month recovering from wrist surgery.The Thunder were in control for most of the night. Gilgeous-Alexander had his best game against the Suns with 37 points on 10-of-20 shooting and eight assists. He baited Phoenix into a 14-of-17 free-throw outing.

As Phoenix mounted a comeback, he scored 15 points in the final frame to put this one away. Holmgren had 23 points and eight rebounds to help out.For the Suns, Collin Gillespie was their top scorer with 24 points and shot 6-of-11 from 3. Devin Booker only had 21 points and six assists.

This continued the trend where the Phoenix NBA superstar has historically struggled against OKC. Not much else to really say, as they couldn't hit on their outside jumpers.Considering this was six months ago, it's difficult to take anything away from it for their playoff series. Gillespie had an awesome start to his season, but has really petered out in recent months.

Don't think you can rely on him to be a big-time contributor. Gilgeous-Alexander might need to lean on turning Phoenix's aggressiveness against them, though.A full recap can be read here.Dec. 10, 2025: Thunder 138, Suns 89In an NBA Cup rematch, the Thunder sent the Suns home as they punched their ticket to Las Vegas. This was a complete dissection as OKC led by as many as 53 points.

Unreal. The 49-point win is so ridiculous that it's difficult to really apply any lessons from it. That's how absurd this was.Gilgeous-Alexander had an efficient 28 points in three quarters.

Holmgren had 24 points and eight rebounds. The Thunder shot an unreal 22-of-40 (55%) from 3. Pair that with the 20 turnovers they created, and this is the final recipe.

A complete one-sided affair that turned historic as it signaled Phoenix's worst loss in franchise history.The only upside is that Booker and Green were out, so you can kinda explain this away. But still, I mean, sheesh. When the Thunder get it going on defense like this, they're unbeatable.

Playing lockdown defense while causing havoc in the passing lanes is how OKC won one championship. It hopes to repeat the formula for another.Considering the Thunder have had a week off and the Suns have played two high-leverage games, Game 1 could follow a similar script. Ask last year's Memphis Grizzlies, who exited Game 1 in a 1-0 series hole after a historic 51-point loss.A full recap can be read here.Jan. 4, 2026: Suns 108, Thunder 105Building up an 18-point cushion, this is one of the top candidates for the Thunder's most annoying losses of the regular season.

It felt like once they got up by double-digit points, they let go of the rope. Eventually, that allowed the Suns to get confidence and turn this into a clutch-time situation.Playing great one-on-one defense, Alex Caruso was on the wrong side of a game-winner. Booker nailed a deep 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left.

Not much you can complain about that one. Great defense and even greater shot-making by a Phoenix all-time great.This is the version of the Thunder you hope to avoid in the NBA playoffs. Especially on offense.

Gilgeous-Alexander had 25 points but on an inefficient 8-of-22 shooting. Williams had 23 points and seven assists. Holmgren had 18 points and nine rebounds.

Nobody else had anything really going on as OKC shot an ugly 31.3% from 3.Meanwhile, things were the opposite for the Suns. Jordan Goodwin had one of his best games ever. He dropped 26 points and shot 8-of-13 from 3.

Dillon Brooks had 22 points and came up with some clutch buckets. Booker finished with 24 points and nine assists. He went 13-of-15 on free throws.A full recap can be read here.Feb. 11, 2026: Thunder 136, Suns 109Without Gilgeous-Alexander and Booker, the Thunder's depth out-flexed the Suns'.

Williams had his best game of the season. He scored an unreal 28 points on 11-of-12 shooting before it ended on a sour note