The OKC Thunder wrapped up the 2024-25 regular season with the top record in the association at 68-14, the largest per-game point differential in league history at 12.9, and were the only Western Conference squad to have multiple representatives participating in this year's All-Star Game.
With this, it should come as no surprise that they entered the playoffs as favorites among the oddsmakers to take home the Larry O'Brien Trophy this June.
Through roughly two weeks of action and following a clean sweep over the 48-win Memphis Grizzlies in round one, they appear to be more than living up to these lofty expectations.
Yet, despite their constant domination over opposing clubs throughout the year, Oklahoma City has regularly been disrespected by both pundits and, more surprisingly, their peers.
From their lack of national TV attention to criticisms of their youthful roster, examples of this Thunder team being slandered are a dime a dozen.
Now, following a recent edition of FanDuel TV's Run it Back, former NBA veteran Danny Green managed to find yet another way to put down OKC.
Thunder omitted from Danny Green's top-five duos in NBA Playoffs
During a recent appearance on the show, the three-time champion presented his list of the top-five duos that are "still alive" in the playoffs, and, to what should be the surprise of both Thunder and frankly basketball fans worldwide, no combination of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, or Chet Holmgren was found.
Danny Green's top-5 duos still in the playoffs:
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) April 30, 2025
1. Luka Doncic/LeBron James
2. Jayson Tatum/Jaylen Brown
3. Steph Curry/Jimmy Butler
4. Nikola Jokic/Jamal Murray
5. Jalen Brunson/KAT
Thoughts? 🤔@MichelleDBeadle | @ChandlerParsons | @DGreen_14 pic.twitter.com/BwyTYPArmb
Considering the Thunder are the best team and arguably have the best player in the entire league in Gilgeous-Alexander leading the charge, their omission should be seen as a major oversight by Green.
However, when delving into the advanced metrics, things start to feel just downright insulting.
No matter which way you slice it up -- whether it be SGA and J-Dub, J-Dub and Chet, or Chet and SGA --, when compared to the tandems actually mentioned by the 15-year pro, it's clear that, through this stage in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, OKC rosters the most impactful duos.
Looking at points per 100 possessions, when including all three of the Thunder's aforementioned tandems, here is how they stack up among those on Green's list:
1) Nikola Jokic & Jamal Murray: 122.8
2) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander & Chet Holmgren: 121.3
3) Jalen Williams & Chet Holmgren: 120.8
4) Jalen Brunson & Karl-Anthony Towns: 120.7
5) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander & Jalen Williams: 120.4
6) LeBron James & Luka Doncic: 117.9
7) Stephen Curry & Jimmy Butler: 113.0
8) Jayson Tatum & Jaylen Brown: 111.1
Their case for being considered the segment's ultimate snub is most prevalent when looking at each duo's point differential, where, astonishingly enough, all three of the Thunder's units reign supreme among the rest:
1) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander & Chet Holmgren: +19.1
2) Jalen Williams & Chet Holmgren: +18.9
3) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander & Jalen Williams: +15.9
4) Jayson Tatum & Jaylen Brown: +14.4
5) Nikola Jokic & Jamal Murray: +9.5
6) Jalen Brunson & Karl-Anthony Towns: +5.3
7) Stephen Curry & Jimmy Butler: +2.8
8) LeBron James & Luka Doncic: -8.7
Though they may not have the top-tier accolades that the rest of these players do (championships, separate MVPs, etc.), at some point people need to stop overlooking this Thunder team and, in this case, their top trio and start recognizing them for what they are -- the most dominant squad in this year's postseason.
It's absolutely wild that, at least based on the statistics, OKC has not one, not two, but three of the league's most impactful two-way tandems.
Them being left out of this kind of conversation is truly baffling.