The Oklahoma City Thunder are poised to become a dynasty in the NBA. They have the MVP who's only now entering his prime, two other rising stars who haven't even graced their ceilings yet, a genius young coach and a seemingly endless cast of bench players who could start on about half of the NBA's teams. But the only guarantee in the NBA is that things will change. And the rapid fall of three of the four title winners before the Thunder should serve as a flashing neon sign that says: Don't get lazy, never be satisfied, never be selfish.
It's easy to get tunnel vision in the NBA. Yes, of course the Thunder look like the NBA's next dynasty. But remember when the Milwaukee Bucks won it all in 2021 and looked poised to be the favorite in the East for a while? Since then, they've advanced past the first round of the playoffs one time. Remember in 2023 when the Nuggets finally broke through it appeared the Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr, Aaron Gordon core was going to be dangerous for a while? The two years following that run have both ended in second-round exits. And last year, the Celtics were so thoroughly dominant all year that their championship had to indicate a burgeoning dynasty, right? Not so much. Even before Jayson Tatum's awful injury, the Celtics were barreling toward a second-round exit and massive roster renovations.
For the three NBA champions before the Thunder, it seemed like their championships were the start of something. But in just a few years, it's become more clear that each of their rings may have been the grand conclusion to their runs instead.
Oklahoma City must avoid the fate that Milwaukee, Denver, and Boston couldn't
There's not one common thread that brought down the Nuggets, Bucks and Celtics, so there might not be one clear thing for the team to avoid. Milwaukee just got kind of old, drafted poorly and made what turned out to be one of the worst star trades in recent memory. Denver's front office just kind of neglected to build around Nikola Jokic and let key free agents walk (although I do like the moves the Nuggets made this summer, so a bounce-back 2025-26 isn't out of the question) and Boston kind of sold out for one title — which they got — but could no longer afford the field that roster.
However, the one team in the past four years that actually did form a dynasty, the 2022 champion Golden State Warriors, should give the Thunder an idea of the path they should take.
Yeah, okay. Just be the Warriors. Good advice, right? Well... kind of, actually.
The 2014-15 Warriors and the 2024-25 Thunder do have some obvious parallels, and the Warriors found sustained success through staying the course year after year after year. Selflessness from the stars, a front office that showed loyalty to role players, and a coach who was willing to adapt to changes in the roster and around the league all come to mind — as does the ability of the Warriors to basically Men In Black themselves about the past season, whether it ended in a championship or not. That team was obsessed with the next one, and that attitude could take these Thunder far. "Four rings " far? We'll see.