The Oklahoma City Thunder have one of the best players in the world leading the way. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has won two straight MVPs, is one of the best scorers on the planet, and creates a ton of open shots for his teammates. But for the second straight summer, the Thunder haven’t made any additions over the summer (so far). That’s a huge bet to be placing on Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams as the team’s co-stars.
Almost every team in the NBA has made moves this summer. The Thunder are one of the very few that haven’t just yet. In doing so, they are trusting Holmgren and Williams to be SGA’s co-stars. They believe in those two guys as the second- and third-best players behind SGA, to the point where they haven’t felt the need to make any big-time moves.
OKC is running it back for a second straight summer, and that shows how much it believes in its top-end talent.
The Thunder aren't changing their core
It’s relatively normal for a team to run it back after winning a championship. That’s what the Thunder did last summer after they won the 2025 NBA Championship with SGA, Holmgren, and Williams leading the way.
But it’s also what the Boston Celtics did after winning in 2024. The Denver Nuggets largely did the same after 2023, though they lost some pieces in free agency. It’s what the New York Knicks are doing this year (outside of Mitchell Robinson).
However, it’s not nearly as common for a team to run it back for two straight seasons. Usually, when a team falls short, they make at least some type of move over the summer. But the Thunder haven’t.
The Celtics have seriously shaken things up in each of the last two summers. The Knicks made a big change a couple of years ago. The Nuggets traded Michael Porter Jr. for Cameron Johnson.
OKC is staying put. It believes in Holmgren and Williams, despite the struggles of the former and the injury concerns of the latter. The Thunder are sticking with their main guys as their main guys.
Instead of trying to make moves in free agency and on the trade market, the Thunder have focused their efforts on retaining the guys on their roster who could have hit free agency.
They re-signed Isaiah Hartenstein and Kenrich Williams, and they picked up the team option on Lu Dort’s deal. The Thunder decided to keep all of their guys in town.
OKC believes in its core.
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