During these early stages of the 2025-26 campaign, the majority of discussions and takeaways among fans and pundits have been overwhelmingly positive when it comes to this OKC Thunder team.
From Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's continued scoring brilliance to the club's scary roster depth, Oklahoma City has once again established itself as the team to beat in the NBA.
Of course, not everyone is choosing to see this team solely through rose colored glasses.
Recently, the folks at Bleacher Report decided to take a crack at pointing out some of the negatives of the Thunder's on-court production so far, specifically pinpointing their "biggest problem," which, in writer Grant Hughes' eyes, is their three-point shooting.
However, in an ironic turn of events, this struggle of theirs so far into the campaign shouldn't actually be all that great a concern for the organization. If anything, it should only increase their confidence in officially becoming the first repeat champion since the 2018 Warriors.
Thunder still dominating amid long-range shooting woes
As Hughes mentioned in his piece, the Thunder have been quite active in the long-range game, hoisting up 41.2 attempts per game, the eighth-most in the league.
The sad reality is, "they're not knocking them down," as they're cashing in at a lackluster 34.0 percent clip, ranking 20 in the league.
Yet, despite these glaring struggles, Oklahoma City still sports the best record in the NBA at 8-1 and remains atop the most updated power rankings.
It's important to understand that, following a putrid start to the year from behind the arc (shot a league-worst 29.6 percent from distance over their first six games), the Thunder have seen their success rate steadily improve as key guys gradually make their return to the rotation.
Since the start of November, SGA and company have remained consistent with their shot attempts from deep, shooting 41.3 threes per game. Fortunately, they're now starting to see more of these shots hitting nylon at a much more consistent rate, making them at a 42.7 percent clip, the fifth-best mark throughout this span.
Now, while this alone should be an exciting sight to see, perhaps the scariest part of all this is that the Thunder are doing this while still playing without the likes of All-NBA forward Jalen Williams in the lineup.
As correctly highlighted by Hughes, J-Dub (who has missed the entirety of 2025-26 so far while he recovers from offseason wrist surgery) is one of Oklahoma City's best long-range snipers, boasting a career 38.2 percent three-point shooting percentage.
With this patch-job lineup and a lackluster perimeter offense, the Thunder are currently the top seed in the entire association and are absolutely dominating their opponents.
Assuming they keep this momentum going, by the time Williams finally returns to the hardwood, it's hard to imagine just how good this club will be when at full strength.