This OKC Thunder team isn't just good -- they're historic.
Oklahoma City is nearing the final stretch of their best season in franchise history, sporting a league-best 62-12 record.
With eight games left on the schedule, they've already broken the previous franchise record for wins in a season, tied for being the eighth-fastest team in league history to reach 60 wins, and have become the youngest team in history to win 60 games, with an average age of 24.7.
The Thunder have joined elite company as far as advanced statistics as well, as they currently hold the second-best net rating in league history, behind only the 1995-96 Bulls. Not including the Thunder, seven of the nine remaining teams in the top 10 of net rating ended their seasons with championships, most recently the 2023-24 Boston Celtics.
Defensively, the team has been on another level. Oklahoma City sits atop the mountain with the league's best defensive rating, 106.1. The gap between the Thunder and the second-best defensive-rated team (Magic at 109.2) is equivalent to the gap between the number two and number 10-ranked Milwaukee Bucks (112.2).
Offensively, they're led by the league's leading scorer, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who's en route to the first MVP of his career. He's backed by first-time All-Star Jalen Williams, 14.8-point-per-game scorer Chet Holmgren, and a collection of seven more rotational players shooting at least 38.0 percent from distance.
Even with all the current and historic success, however, many have serious doubts about this ball club. Perhaps the biggest doubts are the ones with contradicting evidence, with two narratives, in particular, that can so easily be debunked.
Free throw merchants
Fans and media alike have noticed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's tendency to score from the free-throw line and have made it a point to knock the MVP candidate for it.
Crowds around the association even chant "free throw merchant" as he takes to the charity stripe. Negative discourse revolving around a superstar's ability to generate free throws is already a bit confusing, but it's even more confusing after realizing that Gilgeous-Alexander doesn't even lead the league in free throw attempts per game.
He currently shoots 9.0 free throws per game, sinking 90.0 percent of them. Of the last 10 MVP seasons, Gilgeous-Alexander would rank sixth in terms of free throws attempted per game.
It's a commonality for 30-point scorers to have a high free-throw rate, and he once again fits right in with the pack.
Since 2000, there have been 32 instances of a player reaching 30 points per game in a season, and Gilgeous-Alexander's 2025 campaign ranks 23rd in free throw attempts per game.
Among the nine below him are volume distance shooters like Bradley Beal and Steph Curry, who each have two 30-point-per-game seasons. Joining them is a worn-down LeBron James on an abysmal 2022 Lakers team and one of Gilgeous-Alexander's previous seasons.
While SGA's free throw volume is average, considering his usage, the Thunder as a whole have ranked near the bottom of the league in free throws for the majority of the season. They currently rank 26 with 20.3 attempts per game. Oklahoma City doesn't sit so low due to a lack of effort either, as they average the second-most drives per game in the league, trailing only Memphis.
Among the last 10 NBA Champions, the Thunder's 20.3 attempts per game would rank as the second-fewest free throws attempted per night, above only the 2024 Boston Celtics. Within that same group, however, the 2025 Thunder would rank first in drives per game with 54.8, crushing the next-highest total of 48.1 by the 2019 Raptors.
After Gilgeous-Alexander's 9.0 attempts per night, the next highest on the team is Holmgren with 4.1.
Lineups without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander plummet
Many criticisms of the Thunder revolve around their sustainability without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the court, as their offensive punch often falls into the hands of Jalen Williams, who's shown struggles when performing as the top engine.
However, there are two needle movers in the form of Holmgren and Aaron Wiggins, who have stepped up in larger roles this season. Holmgren has only appeared in 26 games this season, but his impact has been felt mightily when he's taken the court.
Per Cleaning the Glass, Oklahoma City averages 123.9 points per 100 possessions with Gilgeous-Alexander on the court, which would be the highest mark in the league. However, when Holmgren and Wiggins are playing without Gilgeous-Alexander, their points per 100 averages actually increase to a whopping 129.8.
A specific gripe often claimed is that the Thunder struggle to get to the rim without Gilgeous-Alexander. This has been true in certain scenarios, such as their Jan. 17 loss to the Mavericks when they attempted 12 free throws with the MVP frontrunner sidelined.
But once again, the Holmgren-led lineups have shown success in this department. With Gilgeous-Alexander on the court, the team has a 19.4 free throw rate. With him off and Holmgren on the court, it shoots up to 23.4, which would be in the 94 percentile of all lineups to play 100 or more possessions this season.
Surviving the minutes without the team's leading scorer is never easy, but this squad has now proven more than capable of doing so.