Suns vs. Thunder NBA Playoffs Preview: Phoenix Draws Defending Champions In Round 1

The Phoenix Suns‘ reward for escaping the Western Conference Play-In Tournament is a date with the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who enter the playoffs as the league’s top overall seed after winning 64 games in the regular season.

It was never going to be easy, but Phoenix may have found itself on the hardest possible path. After eliminating a two-time league MVP in Stephen Curry Friday, the Suns’ date with reigning — and presumptive — MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander begins less than 36 hours later.

That said, a team doesn’t win 64 games on the back of one player, and OKC boasts a deep roster headlined by a starting lineup of defensive ace Lu Dort, Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein and All-Star Chet Holmgren. Things … won’t be easy.

Few expected the Suns to be in this position, and the 45-win squad is playing with found money as it looks to make things interesting in the first round. Fortunately for Phoenix, it has its own All-Star in Devin Booker, a group of defensive aces led by Dillon Brooks, a rising star in Jalen Green, and a blue-collar identity that could allow them to drag games into the mud.

The Thunder enter the playoffs as the odds-on favorite to go back-to-back, but at their best, the Suns have shown the ability to compete with anyone in the league. It’s a recipe for fun, if nothing else.

Here is everything to know about Suns vs. Thunder, from the game schedule to how things went in the regular season, to what I’ll have my eye on in the series.

Suns vs. Thunder Schedule

The seven-game series between the Suns and Thunder will begin Sunday at Oklahoma City’s Paycom Center. The series shifts to the Valley for Game 3 on Saturday, April 25.

Date	Game	Location	Time	TV
Sunday, April 19	1	Oklahoma City	12:30 p.m.	ABC
Wednesday, April 22	2	Oklahoma City	6:30 p.m.	ESPN
Saturday, April 25	3	Phoenix	12:30 p.m.	NBC
Monday, April 27	4	Phoenix	TBD	TBD
Wednesday, April 29	5*	Oklahoma City	TBD	TBD
Friday, May 1	6*	Phoenix	TBD	TBD
Sunday, May 3	7*	Oklahoma City	TBD	TBD

*If necessary

PHNX Suns will have pregame, watchalong and postgame shows for each game of the series.

Suns vs. Thunder regular season series

The Suns and Thunder met five times during the 2025-26 regular season, with an extra meeting coming in the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup. Oklahoma City won the season series, 3-2.

• Friday, Nov. 28: Thunder 123, Suns 119 (NBA Cup Group Play)
• Wednesday, Dec. 10: Thunder 138, Suns 89 (NBA Cup Quarterfinals)
• Sunday, Jan. 4: Suns 108, Thunder 105
• Wednesday, Feb. 11: Thunder 136, Suns 109
• Sunday, April 12: Suns 135, Thunder 103

While the Suns are one of just three teams (Spurs, Timberwolves) to beat the Thunder more than once this season, there is much more than what meets the eye in this season series. On both sides.

To start, Phoenix’s win on the final day of the regular season was inconsequential, as a total of 18 players sat out in the game with both team’s postseason seeding secured. That said, there were two other blowouts in the regular season, but context is key:

• On Feb. 11, Phoenix sat Booker and Green as it was the second end of a back-to-back and the final game before the NBA’s All-Star break.
• Oklahoma’s record-breaking 49-point win also came over a Phoenix team that was without Booker and Green.

And while the results of the above three games are the results, the other two games between the Suns and Thunder came down to the wire, with each team getting the best of one another once.

In late November, the Suns pushed a one-loss Thunder team to the brink — two free throws from Gilgeous-Alexander effectively put the game away after a frenetic back-and-forth down the stretch.

Weeks after the Suns’ 49-point loss, they bounced back in a grind-it-out affair. Clutch shot-making from Brooks and Booker defined Phoenix’s fourth quarter, and no shot was bigger than Booker’s game-winner that put his team up for good late.

DEVIN BOOKER SENDS OKC HOME 🥶 pic.twitter.com/GrLxWbTnay

— PHNX Suns (@PHNX_Suns) January 5, 2026

One Thing I’m Watching In Suns vs. Thunder

Jordan Goodwin’s impact on both ends of the floor.

In early January, Booker would not have had an opportunity to take — and make — a game-winner were it not for the heroics of Goodwin. In 31 minutes of the bench, Goodie sank a career-best eight triples on 13 attempts en route to a game-high 26 points.

On a night where Booker, Brooks, Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren and Jalen Williams all took the floor, it was the scrappy undrafted veteran who scored more than anyone else.

This is especially relevant now, as Goodwin has been added to Phoenix’s starting unit, with his 3-point shooting undeniably being the swing skill. Months ago, OKC was willing to concede those looks to Goodwin and live with the results. Those results just so happened to be a career-best performance and a Suns win.

It’s unreasonable to expect Goodwin to make that many 3s at that high of a clip, but if he forces the Thunder to respect his 3-point shooting, Booker, Brooks and Green may be granted more breathing room to operate against a historically stingy defense. It becomes an interesting battle of wits with the matchups.

And with matchups in mind, what Goodwin brings on the defensive side should almost go without saying. Almost.

Beyond their defense, the Thunder have the potential to be one of the best teams ever constructed because of their MVP. Gilgeous-Alexander won’t call himself “unstoppable,” but he at least admitted that he’s “very, very, very, very, very, very hard, very hard, very very hard to stop.”

Like with any other all-time greats, it is a team effort. Brooks will get the assignment at times, Ryan Dunn will get the assignment at times, and you bet Goodwin will get the assignment at times. He’ll relish it, too.

Goodwin’s blue-collar willingness to do it all means he’ll also spend time guarding Jalen Williams, and he could even spend possessions matched up with a big like Hartenstein or Holmgren.

To have any chance of making this a series, Phoenix will have to muddy things up. Goodwin is just the man for the job.