Thunder Thankful
They don't make teams like this
The Thunder have won 94 percent of their games, which—it never happens this way, but just for fun–puts them on track for a 77-win season. The best ever is 73 wins. The Thunder’s net rating is +16.7 which, if they kept it up all season, would be the best all time. It’s hard to know who in the West can beat them; They have overcome the Rockets and Clippers, and recently had back-to-back wins over the Warriors by 24 and Lakers by 29.
And soon they’ll be adding back Jalen Williams, arguably their second-best player, who has been out all season.
So it hardly takes courage to suggest the Thunder will win the 2026 NBA championship.
But if you’re a regular TrueHoop reader, then you’ll know that I came into this season leery, because we didn’t yet have any idea how that first title might affect them. Winning is so hard, such a slog, and it’s a special team that can dig that deep, and play so hungry, when they have already reached the promised land.
One play changed my mind. You can watch it here.
With about ten minutes left in the second quarter of a blowout over the Blazers, Portland’s Rayan Rupert fouled Ajay Mitchell on the break. The Thunder guard has been a revelation in the absence of Williams—a stud defender who can shoot and create with the ball. (He finished Sunday night’s game not missing a single field goal.) After Rupert grabbed his jersey a little on an awkward play, Mitchell hit the ground in a way that looked painful, taking the brunt on his tailbone, and then popping up as if to convince himself he was okay. They called a flagrant on Rupert, which seemed a bit excessive to me.
What blew my mind about that moment was the reaction of Mitchell’s teammates. Isaiah Hartenstein broke into a dead sprint, joined by Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace. Mitchell was up, rehearsing free throws as they were all just pushing their chests and barking at Rupert, making sure everyone knew not to do it again.
The Thunder were ahead 24-46, and we’ve reached the point of the season where everyone is tired and beat up and it would have been so easy for Caruso and Hartenstein to let this one slide. But they rushed over there in the name of team spirit, protecting a second year player on a cheap deal who was a two-way player last season.
And I thought fuck if they’re healthy they’re going to win it all again.
This really symbolized an answer to my concern about how they’d approach this season. It seems clear to me now that their approach is they’re trying to murder everybody, and they’re still figuring out more ways.
For example, Chet Holmgren and Hartenstein are both gifted passers. Last season I thought they could have experimented a lot more with high-low action. But they’re exploring it now.
Ajay Mitchell, the Belgian blur, gives them a whole new set of options, especially in how they craft their bench lineups once Jalen Williams returns. (On a lot of teams, I’d be very worried about a returning player upsetting the chemistry and rotations, I don’t have any worries about how the Thunder will figure it out.) One thing they have going for them: You can only miss 17 games and still make the All-NBA team. Williams is already out of the running, which might give Mark Daigneault a bit of a freer hand in dispensing minutes. I just don’t think Jalen’s going to be thirsty that me-me-me kind of way. He’s got his max deal; he’s on the team that he wants to be on. There’s a sense of spirit.
As a leader, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the Tim Duncan of his generation. He’s just so pragmatic and even tempered. When Minnesota destroyed them by more than 40 in Game 3 of last year’s playoff matchup, a sideline mic caught Shai saying yeah, it’s just one game. He handled it so well. An unnerved star can upend a whole team, and the opposite is also true.
SGA has also mentioned that last year was a bit unsatisfying, it didn’t sit well with him that the Thunder were twice forced into seventh games. In other words, the title was great, but maybe the Thunder can do better.
Add all these things together, the humble coach, the whole thing, and it’s just hard to see how this could be a team that’s fraying on the edges. They’re leaning into their talent. And I thought that play with Ajay really kind of symbolized it. There was no bad blood in the game, the score was not close. And it’s not like Rayan Rupert is Draymond Green. Then I remembered the one team who has beaten OKC this year. Yes, you guessed it, these same Blazers. OKC won the first quarter of that early November game on November 41-21, then lost the next three quarters.
So I just thought, okay, there’s something there. This is a young but mature team, connected in ways we just don’t see in the NBA, with the world’s best guard and maybe the game’s best leader (tied with Nikola Jokić to my eyes), loaded with on-ball defenders in front of two defensive-minded seven footers, and multiple ways to beat you on both ends. It’s awesome and Thanksgiving, so I just wanted to say I’m grateful for the Thunder.
Thank you for reading TrueHoop.
OKC has three things going for them which make me believe they'll repeat:
1. They're super young. They don't have to worry about aches as pains as much.
2. They're super deep. They just have a lot of talent and don't need to force anyone back. They could probably withstand a month without SGA.
3. SGA is, as mentioned in the article, a great leader and player. There's no drama or distraction like with Ant or other young stars.
I only see Jokic and his brilliance as a possible challenge. They'll eat the Knicks alive, Detroit would be physical but don't have the shooting in my opinion.
I think the thing that has really stood out to me this season is how connected the Thunder have been.
Last season, there was a clunkiness in their play which I think is likely due to Holmgren and Hartenstein being in and out of the rotation during Daigneault's usual experimentation period.
This year, both bigs are snapping passes to each other and have found a comfort level defensively together in the front-court. They are playing more positionally rather than just reacting to the game in front of them. I think that's provided a solid foundation for whoever is front of them to be aggressive and not worry about being beaten off the drive.