On Monday night, the OKC Thunder won a nail-biter over the Denver Nuggets in a primetime matchup out at Paycom Center. The two Western Conference juggernauts went blow for blow for nearly 48 full minutes, but ultimately, superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had the final say with a pair of dagger threes in the final seconds of action.
Now, while SGA did, in fact, steal the show with his historic efforts, the real storyline was much more terrifying for the rest of the league.
It is clear that the Thunder are not the Thunder from last year. In fact, they're better, and this bout against Denver proved it.
Thunder have spent the season developing a new superpower
Down both starting bigs and their second-leading scorer, OKC did what they have been doing from day one of the 2025-26 season -- they called upon the next man up.
As a result, five different Thunder players scored in the double digits, including three different 20-plus point scorers.
Only two of those five actually had a consistent role in last year's title run.
This has been the norm all season. Role players have been forced into unfamiliar roles and extended opportunities due to a constant barrage of injuries, which has created an element of unpredictability to the Thunder offense that they didn't have last year.
As a result, players have come out of the woodwork to become relevant assets to this team.
Ajay Mitchell has been an anomaly, averaging 14.3 points per game while playing some of the best perimeter defense in the league.
Jaylin Williams' averages when he plays over 30 minutes are aligned with some of the game's best bigs, evidence in his 29-point effort on Monday night.
Others like Isaiah Joe, Cason Wallace, and Kenrich Williams have all unlocked another level in their games. Even Jared McCain, the latest addition to the squad, has seen his season averages (both in volume and efficiency) increase after his move to Oklahoma City.
More minutes have allowed these role players to get in-game reps and play through mistakes that they would otherwise not have had the opportunity to overcome.
Because of this, they are flourishing.
Thunder are different than last year's team in the best way
Last year's championship run saw the Thunder narrowly avoid catastrophe on two separate occasions. They won the series against the Nuggets in seven games and came back from a 2-1 deficit to beat the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals.
In both series, their offense looked sluggish and one-dimensional on numerous occasions. Too many box scores told the same story: Shai got his 30 points, Jalen Williams got his 20, and everyone else fought for scraps.
This season, however, the Thunder are on the brink of entering the playoffs with four different double-digit scorers coming off the bench.
If the Thunder can get fully healthy, they could prove to be even tougher to guard than last year, as opposing teams will only be able to guess where the points will be coming from.
Now with another layer to their offensive game, OKC is looking like a team that no one wants to face come mid-April.