The Oklahoma City Thunder will have to spend an agonizing calendar year waiting for another shot at a championship. It's an experience that's become exceedingly common for reigning champions, as the last team to win back-to-back titles was the 2017 and 2018 Golden State Warriors.
If the Thunder are hoping to get back to the championship round, however, they'll need to learn from what went wrong for the Milwaukee Bucks—a team they're now eerily reminiscent of.
Rewind the clocks to 2021 and Giannis Antetokounmpo had just led the Bucks to an NBA championship alongside the likes of Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez, and Khris Middleton. Milwaukee seemed destined to win another title, as the two-time MVP had just been crowned a champion alongside an elite defensive guard, a tremendous two-way wing, and a shot-blocking and floor-spacing big who later finished second in Defensive Player of the Year award voting.
Stop me if this starts to get a little too close for comfort: Said wing even scored 40 points in a pivotal NBA Finals game to help deliver the Bucks their title.
Unfortunately, Milwaukee's vision fell apart as the aforementioned 40-point scoring wing battled injuries that derailed every attempt at a comeback. The 3-and-D big remained solid, but wasn't necessarily the ideal option to pick up the slack offensively. The supporting guard was of tremendous value, but perhaps wasn't ideal for said role, either.
Oklahoma City clearly has a deeper roster than Milwaukee had managed to build, but the Thunder will mirror the Bucks if they don't learn from the vital ability to adapt when stubbornness is easier to embrace.
Thunder must learn from Bucks to adapt to reality before it's too late
The Thunder have few reasons to panic after winning 64 games and going to Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals. What they do have, however, is a series of significant roster decisions to make this summer—and several more looming large.
That starts with deciding whether to accept or decline the team options for starters Luguentz Dort and Isaiah Hartenstein, and continues with tough questions about Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams.
Oklahoma City is currently on pace to be $28,574,372 over the second apron. Declining Hartenstein's $28.5 million club option could all but instantly resolve that issue, though there are other paths forward. That includes declining Dort's $17,722,222 club option and Kenrich Williams' figure of $7.163 million, as well as renouncing several cap holds.
Regardless of how they do it, the Thunder will need to get under the second apron if they hope to make meaningful additions to the roster. Even with a deep rotation of developing talent, Oklahoma City can't become complacent.
After all, simply hoping Jalen Williams can get back to 100 percent is the same type of risky move that ultimately doomed Milwaukee with Khris Middleton.
Is Jalen Williams the next Khris Middleton? Proceed with caution
Middleton dropped 40 points in an NBA Finals game, much like Williams did for the Thunder. He even led the Bucks to playoff game victories when Giannis Antetokounmpo was sidelined by a knee injury. By all means and measures, he looked the part of a true No. 2.
Unfortunately, Middleton appeared in just 111 of a possible 213 games before Milwaukee ultimately traded him less than three seasons after he helped them win a title.
It's too soon to put Williams in that same category, as it's only been one injury-plagued season. He appeared in just 33 games in 2025-26, however, and was consistently in and out of the rotation during the playoffs as his hamstring injuries never seemed to properly heal.
It's far too soon to trade Williams, but if the injury woes persist, the Thunder must learn from the Bucks and make the difficult decision before his market value is fully depleted.
Thunder have one key advantage over Bucks: Developable depth
The one reason the Thunder aren't yet in the same boat as the Bucks is the fact that they boast arguably the deepest roster in the NBA. They have reserves who could start on most teams, including wings Alex Caruso and Ajay Mitchell, and center Jaylin Williams.
Oklahoma City also has club options for the 2027-28 season for Isaiah Joe, Jared McCain, Mitchell, Thomas Sorber, Nikola Topic, and Jaylin Williams. It even has two incoming first-round picks in 2026.
For as appealing as that all may be, Milwaukee is Exhibit A of how quickly a championship window can slam shut. That includes the danger of miscalculations, as the Bucks arguably learned to regret trading Jrue Holiday for Damian Lillard, and Middleton for a package that included Kyle Kuzma and his prohibitive annual salary.
Oklahoma City is in a far better position than Milwaukee was, but they can't make the same mistake of thinking that the core that got them to a title has to be the one they stick with if fate has different plans.
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