With success comes publicity, and with publicity comes negative attention. It's a lesson the Oklahoma City Thunder have learned well over the past couple of seasons.
They went rapidly from being a young, rebuilding team to a team on the rise in the Western Conference. Although they fell to the Dallas Mavericks through six games in the second round of the 2024 playoffs, there was a prevailing feeling that they could be one of the NBA's next dominant teams.
In 2024-25, they proved that to be true. They finished the regular season with a 68-14 record before finishing it off with their first championship since their relocation to Oklahoma City. Now, in 2025-26, they seem poised to do it again. Although they have faltered at times this season due to injuries, they are widely regarded as the championship favorites.
This has come with a massive amount of derision and vitriol from fans around the NBA. It's centered both on the Thunder's overall style of play and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's scoring methods.
But Brian Windhorst, on the March 14 episode of First Take, broke down the simple reason why the Thunder have become the NBA's villain.
It's just plain jealousy.
The Thunder are the most dominant team in the league, and the NBA can't stand it
"The Thunder do so many things so well. They've drafted well, they've traded well, they've developed well, they've set themselves up well... There's rampant jealousy and [envy]. People complain about the Thunder left, right, and center... That's when you know you've made it, when everyone is complaining about you."- Brian Windhorst, First Take
Of course there's some nuance here. Oklahoma City has an overwhelmingly physical style of play, especially from their role players, which can lead to altercations and moments that are perceived as "dirty". Gilgeous-Alexander, like most superstars, takes full advantage of the attention he draws from the defense to create contact and solicit free-throws, which can be exceedingly frustrating for teams attempting to guard him.
But even beyond both of those factors, the Thunder are simply the best team in the league not only in a short-term but also in a long-term sense. They have set themselves up well with the immediate talent to dominate and the sustainable roster organization to do so for years to come. Almost no other team can claim the same thing.
At the end of the day, that is where Oklahoma City's "villain" status undeniably comes from. When you're as successful as the Thunder are, it's unavoidable.
The only thing to do is to pay off that hate with another championship run.