Considering how things have played out here in 2025-26, what with their struggles from beyond the arc and recent slide in the win-loss department, many seem surprisingly ready to see a successor to the OKC Thunder as the league's next NBA Champion.
From predictions that the Spurs will usurp Oklahoma City as top-dogs out West to pundits like Stephen A. Smith taking the field over the defending champs, the popular consensus appears to be that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and company are bound to fall short of a second straight Larry O'Brien Trophy.
However, it's important to remember that even with all this hate directed at them, the Thunder still find themselves ranking in with the top-record in the association at 42-14, the best defensive rating at 106.3, and, most important of all, the highest odds to win the 2026 NBA Finals at plus-135.
Of course, even more terrifying -- they've managed to play at such great levels while their primary starting five of SGA, Lu Dort, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, and Isaiah Hartenstein have played a total of 42 minutes together.
Thunder starters have played less than 50 minutes together all year
During last year's campaign, this aforementioned lineup ran into similar issues when it came to availability, as they only logged a mere 365 possessions during the regular season.
Of course, in this limited run, the Thunder clearly proved to produce at sensational rates, registering in the 97 percentile in point differential (plus-14.8), the 98 percentile in points per 100 possessions (125.8), and the 100 percentile in effective field goal percentage (62.1) while sporting a win percentage of .692.
Come playoff time, they went 15-5 and were the primary first five that helped bring home Oklahoma City's first NBA title.
This year, they've unfortunately logged significantly fewer possessions together at just 91, though have shown improvement in a number of statistical categories, particularly points per 100 possessions (up to 126.4) and effective field goal percentage (66.5).
The fact that their championship-tested starting lineup has largely been out of service, with two of their three stars, Gilgeous-Alexander and J-Dub, having been shelved for extended periods with injuries, and still have maintained such dominant on-court production is a testimony to just how lethal this Thunder club is from the first all the way down to the 15-man on the depth chart.
As was the case in 2024-25, the aim for Oklahoma City is to win a ring. Assuming they can sustain their number one seed standing over these final 26 games of play and coast in the playoffs with both home-court advantage and health on their side, their chances of becoming the first team to repeat since the 2018 Warriors should remain astonishingly high.