The Oklahoma City Thunder have experienced a turbulent 2025-26 season. They've played 37 games without Jalen Williams, 28 down Isaiah Hartenstein, 20 without Sixth Man of the Year candidate Ajay Mitchell, and 12 without reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
That should've broken the Thunder, but they're still right where they were expected to be: Sitting atop the NBA. It's all because of a unique strength: Knowing how to navigate the regular season.
For all of the injuries, absences, and tough losses they've endured, Oklahoma City is still the best team in the regular season. They rank No. 1 in the NBA in net rating at 11.1, with the Detroit Pistons ranking second at a distant 8.6.
The Thunder also have the best winning percentage in the NBA at .762 ahead of the Pistons at .750 and the San Antonio Spurs at .721.
Detroit and San Antonio have peaked at times, but Oklahoma City has entered the final fourth of the regular season in pole position for a reason. They not only have extraordinary depth, but intimate knowledge of how to endure the lows of a regular season and how to stay level-headed when things are going well.
It's a direct result of the fact that the Thunder's past two campaigns have taught them everything they need to know about how to pace themselves through the regular season.
Thunder have unique knowledge of how to pace a regular season
Oklahoma City's 2023-24 season may have been the best thing that's happened to this team south of winning a title. It made an extraordinary leap from 40-42 in 2022-23 to 57-25 in 2023-24, finishing the regular season at No. 1 in the Western Conference.
Just when it seemed like Oklahoma City was bordering on flawless following a clean sweep of the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round, however, they lost in six games to the Dallas Mavericks in Round 2.
It was a harrowing reminder of how great regular season teams aren't necessarily as perfect as they seem. Flaws that were overcome during the first 82 games suddenly become impossible to ignore in the playoffs, with Josh Giddey's poor fit being placed under the proverbial microscope in 2023.
Giddey has since become one of the most well-rounded players in the NBA, but it took that heartbreaking experience for the Thunder to realize they had to move on from him and address their flaws.
Thunder's 2023-24 shortcomings, 2024-25 title offer rare perspective
Fast forward to 2025-26 and the Thunder are the defending NBA champions. They achieved that feat by addressing their voids, swapping the dynamic playmaking of a then 21-year-old Giddey for a defensive-minded former champion in then 30-year-old Alex Caruso.
It was a risky endeavor, as was paying above market value for center Isaiah Hartenstein, but both moves were instrumental to the Thunder's championship season.
Detroit and San Antonio, meanwhile, have yet to figure out what their flaws truly are—nor have they experienced the agony of learning them under the spotlight. The Pistons have yet to make it out of the first round with their core, while this Spurs haven't even played a postseason game with theirs.
In fact, the only two teams that might have the same perspective as the Thunder are the Boston Celtics, which lost three All-Stars over the summer, and the Denver Nuggets.
Considering Oklahoma City has the experience of defeating Denver in the playoffs, and wouldn't play Boston until a hypothetical NBA Finals encounter, they remain heavy title favorites. They've faced their share of adversity, yet remain atop the Association because of what they've learned up to this point.
With few teams even beginning to rival the Thunder's experience in this regard, their status as true contenders and championship favorites remains as strong as ever before.