The OKC Thunder are spearheaded by the reigning MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Alongside him is a player in Chet Holmgren who seems to be well on his way toward earning his first All-Star nod, and, hopefully, in a few short weeks, he'll even have his All-NBA running-mate Jalen Williams back in the fold.
Yet, even with this enviable collection of top-flight, elite talents residing on the roster, the folks at FanDuel TV's Run it Back believe that "the scariest part" about this Oklahoma City squad is the fact that they can seemingly alter their rotation on any given night and not miss a single beat.
Thunder can 'plug and play' anyone on their roster and remain elite
During a recent episode of the show, host Michelle Beadle highlighted that Gilgeous-Alexander and Isaiah Hartenstein are the only two players on this team to have played in every game so far this season.
Despite their revolving door of players coming in and out of the lineup, however, the Thunder still find themselves undefeated at 8-0 heading into Wednesday night.
To NBA legend and Run it Back's co-host, Lou Williams, this has to do with the fact that virtually every player on the roster can flat-out ball, regardless of their circumstances.
"They've turned into a successful plug-and-play team, but the thing that works for them in their plug-and-play is that everybody they plug in can play. Sometimes you put guys on the floor, and you kind of got to hide them, or he's a niche guy, or he's a defender. No, all of these guys are two-way players on their team. All of these guys can defend and all of these guys can go out and get you a bucket... They win by committee and they win together," Williams said.
Clearly, there's no question when it comes to the fact that Gilgeous-Alexander is the de facto leader of this Thunder team.
However, when it relates to the pecking order behind him, at least as of right now, there's no straightforward case for who's number two, three, four, and onward.
The order is subject to change on any given night.
In eight games played, head coach Mark Daigneault has rolled out four different starting lineups.
With these alterations, in some outings, it's Holmgren paving the way to victory as Shai's second in command.
Other nights, it'll be someone like Ajay Mitchell or Isaiah Joe filling such a role.
What's fascinating about this interchangeability is that, no matter their orientation, the Thunder have still been able to lead the league in key areas of play, such as defensive rating (104.8) and net rating (13.7) while, most importantly, remaining the lone undefeated team in the NBA at 8-0.
Last season, Oklahoma City flaunted their ability to mix and match their lineups when needed, as they rolled out a whopping 30 different starting units en route to the fourth-most wins in history (68) and, ultimately, an NBA Championship.
Now, during these early stages of 2025-26, they're once again showing this to be one of their many superpowers.