With less than six weeks remaining in the 2024-25 regular season, the Oklahoma City Thunder have established themselves in a tier of their own among the NBA's contending teams. They have the highest point differential of all-time, and have been arguably the best team in the association all season long. The one seed will almost assuredly be the Thunder's when the playoffs come around, and they will have an excellent chance of making their first NBA Finals appearance in 13 years.
There are still plenty of challenges on the road to accomplishing that goal, though. Thunder fans have obviously not forgotten the 2024 playoffs, where Oklahoma City also held the number one seed but was upset in the second round by Dallas. The Mavericks have played the Thunder tough this season as well, defeating them in three of their four matchups this year. These results had previously only served to heighten the nervousness among OKC's fanbase.
After all, even after the blockbuster trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, there was always the chance that the rivalry between these two teams could create a situation where Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis and company could serve to spoil the Thunder's season yet again.
Irving injury alleviates Thunder's concern of playing Mavericks in playoffs
But after the latest injury update, that possibility now seems to be a distant dream, much to the relief of Thunder fans. Kyrie Irving has sadly suffered a torn ACL that will keep him sidelined for the remainder of the season. We never want to celebrate injuries, but we can acknowledge the very real impact this will have on Oklahoma City's playoff outlook.
Even sans Luka, Dallas was a dangerous squad with Irving operating on the perimeter and Davis roaming under the rim. Before Kyrie's season-changing injury, the Mavericks had a solid chance of picking up some more wins before the end of the regular season and finishing with the eight seed in the Western Conference playoffs. If that had occurred, they would have likely been a decently threatening team to the Thunder in a one seed versus eight seed matchup.
Now, that possibility is almost certainly extinguished. Dallas will likely be headed for the lottery, while Oklahoma City can make preparations to take on other less frightening teams in round one of the playoffs. We wish Kyrie a speedy recovery, but Thunder fans can not be mad that their team's road to a title just got perhaps a bit easier.