ESPN analyst drops 'all exclamation points' on Thunder ahead of 2024-25 NBA season

The OKC Thunder are a team ready to win in the now.

Headlined by stars, both super and budding, like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren and rounded out by stud role players such as Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins, and Cason Wallace, coach Mark Daigneault's rotation is one that's easily capable of going 10-12 men deep on a nightly basis.

This was already proven to be the case during their 2023-24 campaign where they won 57 games and clinched their first playoff berth since 2019-20, and, now, with the offseason additions of Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein, it seems that we will once again see a similar number of contributors regularly gracing the hardwood in 2024-25.

Of course, even with these top-flight additions to the roster, it's hard to envision the Thunder coming across significantly more success this coming year than they did last season, as they already made history by becoming the youngest team to claim a top seed in a conference standings.

Because of this, many are simply projecting that SGA and company will go on to repeat as top dogs out West during the regular season, with ESPN's Zach Lowe going as far as to say he would "be surprised" if they didn't come away with the number one record.

ESPN's Zach Lowe would be 'surprised' if Thunder don't claim No. 1 seed

During a recent episode of NBA Today, all panelists on the show were directed to provide what they believe to be the "best punctuation mark" for the Thunder heading into the coming campaign. All seemed to be relatively high on their chances of once again contending in the conference race, though Lowe opted to go "all exclamation points" when talking about Oklahoma City.

"They loaded up in the offseason -- Isaiah Hartenstein, swiped him from the Knicks; Alex Caruso, swiped him from the Bulls. They both fill needs, they add depth. I will be surprised if the Thunder are not the number one seed in the West," Lowe said.

Continuing on with his praise-filled take, Lowe projects that the Thunder "are going to be a dominant regular season team" and that they'll be "a tough playoff team, too."

Oklahoma City managed to dominate last season as well, as they not only wound up claiming to top-seed out west but registered the second-best record in the entire association, behind only the 64-win Boston Celtics. Of course, as we are all aware, said dominance ultimately resulted in an earlier-than-expected postseason exit in round two against the Dallas Mavericks.

Because of this, the Thunder "loaded up," as Lowe correctly noted in the segment, by pursuing players in Caruso and Hartenstein who fill serious needs within the rotation that led to their demise last year.

I-Hart's addition to the roster has arguably been the most talked-up move for the club this offseason, with some labeling him as "the one thing they were missing" in 2023-24.

Because of these maneuvers made by GM Sam Presti, the Thunder are being penciled in as a favorite to represent the West in the 2025 NBA Finals and, to Lowe and many others, are expected to once again claim the coveted number one seed in the conference standings for the second year in a row.