Amid their recent slide in the win-loss department (3-2 over their last five games) and widespread injury woes, many have begun to shy away from believing the OKC Thunder could be the league's first back-to-back NBA Champion since the 2018 Warriors.
Nick Gallo seems to find this rather absurd.
During a recent appearance on Yahoo Sports Daily, Oklahoma City's beloved sideline reporter shared his thoughts on the current state of the team as they head into post-All-Star Game play.
In his eyes, their production up to this point has been "really remarkable," considering they are the number one seed in the league despite having the third-most missed games due to injury this season, and that, in a way, these unfortunate circumstances have unlocked even more opportunities for some of their secondary weapons to evolve their games even further.
"It's really impressive to see the way that the roster has been built and the depth that exists. Now, Mark Daigneault and this team have had so many opportunities to test out different line-up combinations to get guys a little bit further down the road of their development tracks that maybe we wouldn't have seen," Gallo said.
Thunder depth gaining useful experience amid injury woes
Though Gallo specifically highlighted the on-ball experience guys like Ajay Mitchell and Cason Wallace have gotten as a result of these long-lasting struggles with injuries, they are far from the only beneficiaries.
With last year's All-NBA and All-Defensive selection Jalen Williams missing extended action following offseason wrist surgery and due to a nagging hamstring strain, big man Chet Holmgren has taken on more responsibilities as Oklahoma City's second option and established himself as an All-Star as a result.
More recently, with the Big Three of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, J-Dub, and Holmgren being limited with injuries, guys like Isaiah Joe and trade deadline acquisition Jared McCain have emerged as an incredibly efficient dynamic duo.
Heck, the coaching staff is even finding out how effective Alex Caruso can be when slotting in for spurts as the primary ball handler.
Now, even with the overwhelming number of games missed from key players, through 56 games played as a collective, the Thunder still find themselves sporting a league-best 42-14 record, have some projecting them to rattle off 62 wins, and are still widely considered the favorites to take home the 2026 Larry O'Brien Trophy.
With 26 outings still remaining on the regular season docket, there's a growing belief that the Thunder will simply be playing in semi-neutral mode on the floor and focusing on getting their stars back as close to full strength as possible in time for the start of the playoffs.
However, even if they can't get back to 100 percent health by late April, the success the Thunder have had with their injury-induced lineup experimentation should be cause for encouragement for the team, and concern for the rest of the association.