Despite what the naysayers may preach, this OKC Thunder team has proven itself to truly be something special.
From leading the league in numerous key statistical areas such as net and defensive rating to being the first team out West to punch their ticket to the 2025 NBA Playoffs, Oklahoma City is undoubtedly playing like one of the best squads currently in the association.
Now, following the events of their off night this past Thursday, they've officially set themselves apart from those who have come before them throughout the history of the game.
With the Los Angeles Lakers' loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, the 57-12 Thunder officially clinched the number one seed in their conference standings, becoming the second-youngest team to ever accomplish such a feat.
Interestingly enough, the only team to have done so with a younger average age is the 2023-24 OKC Thunder.
With this, they've also officially set the mark for the youngest team in league history to finish as the top seed in a conference standing in two consecutive years with an average age of 24.7
OKC Thunder become youngest team to clinch consecutive No. 1 seeds
Though to fans and several media members, the success the Thunder have achieved at such a young age is highly impressive and is believed to make them quite dangerous moving forward, many players throughout the league seemingly see it as mere noise more than anything else.
Recently, NBA insider Brian Windhorst revealed that there are a plethora of individuals strewn across the association who "don't respect" OKC as a legitimate contender, while veteran forward Marcus Morris Sr. doubled down on such a sentiment during a March 18 released sit-down on The Kevin O'Connor Show by specifically highlighting their youthfulness as a reason for this kind of rhetoric.
"I just think it's one of those things where you don't have that veteran presence, you don't have that background of getting to the championship. You have a whole new team that's probably, maybe younger than some college teams... I don't think they're just ready to win," Morris said.
Regardless of this perception Morris has alluded to, through 69 games played, this Thunder team looks just as capable of taking home the Larry O'Brien Trophy as any other top-flight squad on the year.
Not only do they boast the best record in the NBA and are a whopping 12 wins ahead of the second-seeded Houston Rockets, but they are also spearheaded by arguably the favorite to take home this year's MVP award in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Add this to the fact that their roster is filled to the brim with numerous established stars and budding studs of the age of 26 or below, and, be it during this upcoming postseason or the many to come over the next several years, this Oklahoma City team is not one that should be slept on, especially when they've now locked up home-court advantage for the second straight campaign.