If the Oklahoma City Thunder are hoping to punch their ticket to the knockout stage, they're off to a superb start. Even with their current dire injury situation. The calendar has flipped to November, which means the 2026 NBA Cup has arrived. Group games are being played out.

The Thunder kicked things off with a convincing 128-97 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday. They led by as many as 37 points. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a low-effort 28 points and four assists. Meanwhile, Ajay Mitchell exploded for a career-best 35 points and five assists.

Since the Post-D.C.C. (Dub, Chet, Caso) era started about two weeks ago, this is the best the Thunder have looked. Just a complete one-sided domination against one of the hottest teams in the league to start this youthful 2026-27 regular season.

Here's a look at the 2026 NBA Cup West Group B standings:

• 1. Minnesota Timberwolves 2-0, plus-32 point differential

• 2. Oklahoma City Thunder 1-0, plus-31 point differential

• 3. New Orleans Pelicans 0-1, minus-six point differential

• 4. LA Clippers 0-1, minus-26 point differential

• 5. Memphis Grizzlies 0-1, minus-31 point differential

As a reminder, there are six groups of five teams for the NBA Cup — three in each conference. At the end of the month, all six group winners, plus two top wildcard teams, will advance to an eight-team knockout stage. The higher-seeded team will host in the quarterfinals and semifinals. The finals will be played in Indiana at Butler's collegiate home gym.

A bunch of money is tied up in the NBA Cup rewards. The quarterfinal losers will receive an additional $53K per player; the semifinal losers will receive $106K per player; the finals loser will receive $212K per player; and the NBA Cup winner will receive $530K per player.

The Thunder have finished in the top four in the last two years. They lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2024 NBA Cup finals and lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the 2025 NBA Cup semifinals. Both happened in Las Vegas — when those rounds were still hosted there.

The Thunder have three 2026 NBA Cup West Group B games left — Friday, Nov. 13 at the Clippers; Friday, Nov. 20 hosting the Pelicans; and Wednesday, Nov. 25 hosting the Timberwolves.