"There will be a waiting list for Thunder season tickets.

Just not yet.

Thunder officials announced Thursday night that slightly less than 1,000 season tickets remain. All remaining tickets are $10 upper deck seats that will go on sale at 8 a.m. today.

"We are down to a precious few remaining seats,” said team spokesman Dan Mahoney. "We will be open and encourage fans to keep their Friday appointments. By purchasing them, you become a Thunder season ticket member and enjoy all the benefits that brings, including securing your opportunity for future upgrades.

"And you won't have to be placed on a waiting list.”

Once all season tickets have been sold, remaining select-a-seat appointments will be canceled. Those fans will be placed on a waiting list for future season tickets. They also will be placed on a list for eight-game mini packages, in all price ranges, that will go on sale in approximately two weeks.

With around 1,000 tickets left, the Thunder is all but assured of joining the Celtics, Lakers and Suns as the only NBA franchises with a season ticket waiting list.

"It's nice to validate the NBA's confidence in Oklahoma City,” said Mayor Mick Cornett. "Back in November '05, when commissioner (David) Stern said Oklahoma City was at the top of the NBA's relocation list, some people said, ‘Huh?' This shows Oklahoma City is not only a legitimate market but one of the league's strongest markets.”

Similar to the select-a-seat format for season tickets, eight-game mini packages (maximum four per account) will be offered based on an applicant's original scheduled appointment time. Fans received an unexpected surprise Thursday afternoon when Thunder players Jeff Green, D.J. White and Kyle Weaver showed up at the Ford Center.

For the third consecutive day, the Thunder sold around 2,000 tickets. The team has sold approximately 12,000 season tickets the first four days, halfway through what was originally scheduled to be an eight-day process."