The 2025 trade deadline was easily the craziest and most active in modern NBA history, as a record 63 players were dealt ahead of Thursday's 3 p.m (ET) cut-off. If nothing else, what this otherworldly activity taught us is that the league is simply just trying to catch up with the OKC Thunder.
At 40-9, Oklahoma City sports the best record in the association. They register with the top net rating (13.0) and appear to be on pace to become arguably the greatest defensive unit the game has ever seen.
What's most impressive is that they've produced at these rates while the roster's been completely ravaged by injuries.
From Chet Holmgren's right iliac wing fracture that has kept him sidelined since November 12 to Ajay Mitchell's toe sprain that will likely keep him in street clothes through mid-April, the Thunder have played at sub-full strength all year long.
Yet, even with many key players missing extended time, OKC keeps finding ways to win.
This has many of the game's other title hopefuls concerned ahead of this year's playoff push and, as a result, several direct rivals made it a point to improve their arsenal ahead of February 6's deadline.
With the Mavericks acquiring Anthony Davis, the Lakers attaining Luka Doncic, and the Warriors landing Jimmy Butler, a bunch of West threats clearly made it an effort to bolster their talent pools as they gear up for a potential dual against the Thunder for the conference crown.
And while some may be worried about how these shakeups impact Oklahoma City's current title-favorite odds, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander seemingly couldn't be any less concerned.
Thunder superstar far from worried about slew of trade deadline deals
Following Wednesday's blow out win over the Phoenix Suns, Gilgeous-Alexander was asked directly how he and his teammates feel about Western Conference clubs loading up "to try to compete against you guys."
In such classic SGA fashion, the Thunder star projected as both extremely humble and unbelievably confident all in one fell swoop, as he said:
"We just worry about ourselves. That's all we can do. We have a lot of growing to do between now and where we want to be at the end of June. That's what we're focused on, just trying to get better every day. Hopefully, our season's long enough to get to summer time."
The ironic thing about all of these moves made by opposing clubs to try and catch up with the Thunder is that, even without making any significant transactions of their own, Oklahoma City still managed to come away from the deadline with a major talent upgrade as it was officially announced on Thursday that Chet Holmgren had finally come off the team's injury report.
The big man could realistically see his return to action come as early as Friday night during the club's home tilt against the Toronto Raptors.
So, with all this in mind, even after the blockbuster deals and last-minute trades made by opposing teams, fans should not be concerned about the Thunder's status as top dogs changing any time soon.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander certainly isn't worrying, so why should you?