Considering they boast a record of 56-12 and are currently on pace to become the youngest team in league history to claim two consecutive number-one seeds in a conference standings, it should come as no surprise that the OKC Thunder are currently viewed as favorites to take home the Larry O'Brien Trophy come year's end.
Add on the fact that they have arguably the deepest rotation in the league, roster two All-Stars, and are spearheaded by perhaps the top candidate to be crowned MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and this sentiment only gets further strengthened.
Yet, despite all of these talking points, there are still plenty of naysayers who believe Oklahoma City is undeserving of its top-billed status. NBA insider Brian Windhorst even recently revealed that players across the league "don't respect" them as legitimate title threats.
Because of this, many fans and pundits have come out of the woodwork to present their ideas of how the Thunder could quell any doubt of them being a serious championship contender moving forward, frequently tabbing a reunion with former franchise cornerstone Kevin Durant as a splashy way to do this.
While there are a plethora of fans who have shown great disdain for such a hypothetical scenario, it has not exactly stopped this idea from being oft-discussed.
Following Gilgeous-Alexander's recently surfaced remarks on Durant and his skill set, they should only expect such chatter to ramp up.
Thunder star's remarks on Kevin Durant bound to amplify reunion rumors
In a viral social media clip, the Thunder superstar was seen talking about his personal power rankings of the game's G.O.A.T players. When discussing the likes of Durant, while he may not have put him at the number one spot on his overall breakdown, as far as sheer skills are concerned, SGA made it clear that he believes the 15-time All-Star is the best to ever lace them up.
"Skills alone, KD's one. KD is seven feet and can do everything Steph Curry can do," Gilgeous-Alexander said.
Regardless of how one feels about this specific assessment of Durant, it's virtually impossible to argue the forward isn't at least in the conversation for the most skilled NBA player of all time.
Only the eighth player in league history to drop over 30,000 career points and just the third to achieve 50/40/90 shooting splits in multiple seasons, the 36-year-old is easily one of the greatest scorers the game of basketball has ever seen.
However, throughout his nearly two decades in the association, he has established himself as far more than just a bucket-getter, as he ranks within the top 60 all-time in total blocks (1,267), is 85 overall in steals (7,796), and, per Basketball Reference, is 12 in career player efficiency rating.
Even now in year 18, Durant still finds himself absolutely stuffing the stat sheet with his top-shelf skill set, impacting the game on both ends by posting sensational per-game averages of 26.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.3 blocks while shooting 52.6 percent from the field and 41.6 percent from distance.
Frankly, with his all-around versatility and two-way dominance, it should come as no surprise that people are very interested in and entertained by the idea of adding his services to this dynasty-chasing Thunder core of Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren.
Now, with Shai's high-praise remarks, one shouldn't expect such chatter to go away anytime soon.