After putting forth a truly historic 2024-25 campaign that ultimately culminated in an NBA Championship, the OKC Thunder have somehow found a way to get even better during this follow-up campaign.
Especially when it comes to their play on the less glamorous side of the ball.
Simply put, Oklahoma City's defensive domination in 2025-26 is almost too good to believe. As things currently stand, they rank first in key statistical categories such as opponent turnovers per game (18.1), opponent field goal percentage (42.2), and points allowed per game (106.7).
Of course, that's merely just the tip of the ice berg. The advanced metrics get even scarier.
Thunder defensive numbers too good to be true -- even though they are
Per 100 possessions, the Thunder find themselves boasting a ridiculous defensive rating of 103.6, which is 6.7 better than the second-ranked Rockets (110.3). To put into perspective just how wild a gap this is, the difference between Houston and the 22-ranked Milwaukee Bucks is just 6.4.
On top of this, Oklahoma City also leads the way in per-game point differential at +15.5, which is +3.8 better than the second-ranked Rockets.
What makes this kind of production incredibly beneficial is that they haven't found themselves playing all that many close games as a result. Through 21 outings, less than half have seen the score fall within a five-point margin during the final five minutes of action.
More impressive, they've barely had any use for their superstar, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, late in games due to their regular scoreboard advantages, as he's seen a mere 71 minutes in the fourth quarter, which has him placing outside of the top 200 in the league.
All things considered, it shouldn't come as that great of a surprise that this Thunder team, consisting of three established All-Defensive players in Lu Dort, Alex Caruso, and Jalen Williams, is off to the kind of start that they are.
With their strong play, OKC has now become just the fourth team in NBA history to register a 20-1 record or better, joining the 2015-16 Warriors, 1993-94 Rockets, and 1969-70 Knicks, all of whom wound up making it to the championship round during their respective years.
They're also currently on pace to win 78 games, which, if accomplished, would surpass Golden State's record-setting mark of 73.
While their play on both ends of the ball has certainly led them to this point, it's their scintillating efforts on defense that truly make them special, and the numbers only strengthen such a sentiment.