The 2024-25 OKC Thunder proved themselves to be one of the most dominant and well-rounded teams of the 21st Century.
From their historically elite defensive unit to having their league MVP and scoring champion, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, leading the offensive charge, Oklahoma City had very few flaws and displayed limited signs of struggle, even through widespread adversities such as season-long injury woes.
However, although their latest campaign ultimately concluded with the club claiming their first title run of the Sooner State era, there are still some who look back on things with questioning attitudes.
Hall of Famer Charles Barkley specifically finds himself looking back on the Thunder season that was with a certain level of disdain, as he was recently found eviscerating coach Mark Daigneault for his questionable rotation-tweaking in the NBA Finals, notably his decision to swap Isaiah Hartenstein for Cason Wallace in the starting unit with the hopes of leaning into a smaller schematic approach.
Charles Barkley still flabbergasted by Thunder lineup tweak in NBA Finals
During a recent appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast, Barkley revealed that "the only time I thought they were gonna lose was when [Daigneault] switched up the starting lineup," a move that he's been critical of since the shakeup was first made in Game 1 of the championship round.
To the NBA legend-turned-analyst, the swap of Hartenstein and Wallace seemed to play a significant role in the Pacers keeping things tight throughout the seven-game series.
He even referred to it as being tied with Avery Johnson's decision to change up the lineup for the 67-win Mavericks back in the quarterfinals of the 2007 playoffs against the Warriors, a matchup they lost, as the dumbest in recent memory.
"You don't change up things when you got the best team. You've been the best team in the NBA all season... I was like, 'Yo man, don't do that again. You almost cost your team the championship,'" Barkley said of Daigneault's lineup alteration.
As noted, Barkley was critical of Daigneault's decision to shake things up right from the start of the NBA Finals, and for good reason.
A first-five of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, and Hartenstein ranked in the 97 percentile in point differential (+14.8), the 98 percentile in points per 100 possessions (125.8), and the 100 percentile in effective field goal percentage (62.1) while sporting a dominating record of 24-9 throughout both regular season and playoff play.
More importantly, against Indiana with the season on the line and while down 1-2, the switch back to such a lineup configuration helped the club step up when needed, as they rattled off three wins in four games and, ultimately, led the Thunder to their first Larry O'Brien Trophy.
As the old saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Barkley appears to be a firm believer in this mindset and seems convinced that coach Daigneault should be as well.