When the NBA champion receives their ring, a familiar face will be in attendance. The Oklahoma City Thunder will host the Houston Rockets for the 2025-26 Opening Night on Oct. 21, per ESPN's Shams Charania. It will also mark the first game of the NBC broadcast era.

Two of the biggest days of the year in the NBA regular season are opening night and Christmas Day, and Friday we learned the matchups we will see on both nights, courtesy of ESPN's Shams Charania.  The NBA will send the new-look Rockets,

If Durant is going to downplay the Thunder's championship, he's inviting fans to boo him on Opening Night. That's happened in his seven trips to OKC since he left. Expect that to continue until the day he retires, and at his eventual jersey retirement ceremony a few decades from now.