Aug. 24, 2026, 3:00 p.m. CT
Considering the all-time hype the 2026 NBA draft class received over the past year, it’s only appropriate to circle some dates in the 2026-27 regular season schedule. Now that we know how the Oklahoma City Thunder will go through their seven-month marathon, let’s see when some of the top new faces show up in town.
It won’t take long for the 2026 NBA draft No. 1 pick to show up. The Thunder will host the Washington Wizards on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. CT. That means AJ Dybantsa will make his sole visit to OKC early on in his rookie campaign.
The Wizards — who are run by former OKC front-office members Will Dawkins and Michael Winger — hope to have their first true franchise player since John Wall. Washington was part of the glut of teams that bottomed out in the NBA standings for Dybantsa and the rest of the historic NBA draft class.
Of course, Dybantsa has been a household name since his high school days. The 19-year-old lived up to the hype at BYU last season. He averaged an eye-popping 25.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists with the Cougars. Those types of collegiate numbers certainly generated buzz and backed up all of the ‘generational’ labels he received from NBA draft experts across the globe.
It’ll be fun to see Dybantsa face the Thunder live in-person for the first time. Especially early on in his NBA career. There’s a decent chance that being defended by someone like Jalen Williams or Cason Wallace could prove to be his first ‘Welcome to the NBA’ moment.
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Even if the Wizards are below-average again, they’ll be one of the more fun teams to keep an eye on. Forget how they looked post-All-Star break. Washington will have a complete makeover. Aside from Dybansta’s arrival, Trae Young and Anthony Davis will also headline the recently-rebuilt squad. That’s a lot of high-end players and personality to bring along simultaneously. A lot of risk and reward in Washington with that group.