OKC opens preseason campaign with dominant win over Charlotte

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Oklahoma City Thunder kicked off their NBA preseason with a lopsided victory over the Charlotte Hornets, 135-114, on Oct. 6, 2025, at the North Charleston Coliseum.

Despite the absence of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Luguentz Dort, and Alex Caruso, the reigning NBA champions relied on their deep and talented second unit that outplayed the LaMelo Ball-led Charlotte squad.

OKC head coach Mark Daigneault leaned on his 11 remaining players, spearheaded by off-the-bench scoring machine Aaron Wiggins, a holdover from last season’s NBA title campaign.

Wiggins led all scorers in the game, dropping 23 points in just 24 minutes off an efficient 10-of-14 shooting from the field.

Aside from his scoring spree, the four-year OKC shooting guard flaunted his court vision, tallying six assists alongside two rebounds.

The Thunder immediately dropped the hammer from the get-go after building an early 10-point lead, which later swelled to 13 points at the half, 70-57.

Despite Ball’s early buckets that ignited a third-quarter rally from the Hornets, Wiggins, backstopped by Jaylin Williams and Ousmane Dieng, mounted a late run that extended Oklahoma’s cushion to 19 points heading into the fourth.

Due to the insurmountable lead, Charlotte decided to rest its stars and could only watch the waxing-hot Oklahoma run them over for another 12 minutes of action.

It was a new bench mob that torched Charlotte in the final canto, led by guard Chris Youngblood and Jazian Gortman, who both went off from the field.

Youngblood, a late pickup by the Thunder as an unrestricted free agent, capped off the impressive win with 20 points built from 7-of-11 shooting from the field.

Meanwhile, Gortman also showed off in his NBA preseason debut with 15 markers and four dimes.

On the other hand, the Hornets received an all-around effort from Ball, who stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, three assists, and two boards, supported by skipper Kon Knueppel’s 18-point effort.