On Thursday, Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti noted that, for the last six years, the reigning champions haven’t made it out of the second round the following season. The odds are stacked against OKC repeating, and “the primary reason for that is simple,” Presti told reporters. “It’s very, very, very hard to win one time.” The Thunder are champions now, but Presti hit a lot of the same notes at his annual preseason marathon media session that he has in the past: They’re focused on incremental improvement, they expect to have ups and downs, they will be fluid and flexible with lineups as they search for new ways to win.
“We’re not looking to imitate ourselves,” he said, “or get tied down to what has worked in the past.”
The champs are bringing back last year’s entire rotation, but the most exciting part about the team is that it could look different. The core is young, and the offense has room for growth.
“I don’t think we’re at a place yet where other teams are sitting around feeling like they can’t stop us,” Presti said.
Last season, they didn’t get to see much of their double-big lineup, they didn’t get to see much of Ajay Mitchell and they didn’t get to see Nikola Topić at all. It is possible that, after winning 68 games and the NBA title, the next version of the Thunder will be significantly better. Scary thought.
The state of play
Last year: Isaiah Hartenstein got hurt in the preseason and Chet Holmgren got hurt 10 games in, so Jalen Williams, who stands 6-foot-5, found himself playing significant minutes at center. Despite the fact that the two bigs played in only 20 games together, the Thunder finished the regular season with a league-best 68-14 record. After winning his first MVP award and making First Team All-NBA for the third straight season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led OKC to a title, taking down the Grizzlies, Nuggets, Timberwolves and Pacers in the process. The series against Denver and Indiana got dicey, but in both cases the Thunder won Game 7 comfortably.
The offseason: The Thunder drafted big man Thomas Sorber with the No. 15 pick, but he tore his ACL in September, which means 2025-26 will be the third time in for years that they’ve had a first-round pick sidelined for the whole season. They also traded the No. 24 pick to the Kings for a future first-round pick, dumped Dillon Jones for a future second-round pick, re-signed Mitchell on a three-year, $8.7 million contract and signed Jaylin Williams to a three-year, $24 million extension. The most significant thing they did, though, was get long-term commitments from the core players: Gilgeous-Alexander (four years, $272.4 million, player option), Jalen Williams (five years, $239.9 million) and Holmgren (five years, $239.9 million).
Vegas over/under: 62.5, per BetMGM
The conversation
Thunder believer: It’s crazy that 2024-25 was only the beginning. The Thunder didn’t just win the title; they were one of the best teams ever. Only four teams in the history of the NBA have won more regular-season games, only one has finished with a better net rating and nobody — not the 1996 Bulls, not the 1972 Lakers, not the 2016 Warriors — has finished with a better point differential. And unlike the 2016 Warriors, this juggernaut actually completed the mission. The Thunder are still ridiculously young, but they are now unquestionably battle-tested. If Presti and Mark Daigneault were not so focused on the big picture rather than chasing wins, they could probably go 74-8 this season. Instead, I’ll just say that, provided they’re healthy come playoff time, they’ll be even tougher to beat.
Thunder skeptic: I suppose I should remind you that Game 7 of the NBA Finals was tied when Tyrese Haliburton tore his Achilles with about five minutes left in the first quarter. Three days before that, with a chance to close it out in Indianapolis, the Thunder trailed by as many as 31 points in a blowout loss. I’m not trying to discredit the championship or put an asterisk on it, but before Haliburton went down, it looked like the Pacers had a pretty good chance of pulling off the upset. The way the series ended, Indiana lost a golden opportunity and Oklahoma City lost the right to claim it was historically dominant (without qualifying the statement with “in the regular season,” anyway). If the Thunder had clearly solved all the problems Indiana presented, I’d be right there with you anointing them. That’s not what happened, though, so I have to anticipate similar problems popping up in next year’s playoffs.
Thunder believer: So your premise is that the Thunder didn’t win the championship impressively enough? I’m sorry, but getting blown out in Game 6 of the Finals is no more relevant than the Celtics getting blown out in Game 4 the year before or the Bulls getting blown out in Game 4 in 1996. Banners hang forever, and you don’t get an extra shiny one for having a great 3-point percentage in the Finals or never trailing in a playoff series or whatever it is that you think the Thunder should have done. Anyway, last year is over and done with, and I fully agree that problems will pop up in this year’s playoffs. That’s what happens in the playoffs! I’m pretty confident, though, that they have the depth of talent and lineup versatility to solve them.
Thunder skeptic: All I’m trying to say is Denver and Indiana exposed some vulnerabilities. For all the times Presti has talked about playing instinctively and in rhythm offensively, the Thunder got alarmingly slow, stagnant and mechanical under playoff pressure. It was jarring to see them shoot 32.3% from 3-point range against the Nuggets, who were all but ignoring their role players on the perimeter in order to pack the paint. Denver added depth over the summer, as did the Clippers. The Rockets traded for Kevin Durant. I’m not sure that any of these teams will be able to stop OKC from getting back to the Finals, but I won’t be shocked if it happens. And I am absolutely sure that Presti and Daigneault would like the team to be less reliant on forcing turnovers and scoring in transition.
Thunder believer: Sure! And that’s why they’ll spend the whole regular season working toward a smoother playoff offense. Will Holmgren’s off-the-dribble game evolve? That was looking promising early last season, but his pelvic injury slowed his progress. Coming off a serious wrist injury, will Jalen Williams’ pull-up 3 be more of a threat? Will Cason Wallace take a step forward as a playmaker? Will Mitchell and/or Topić be in the playoff rotation? I can’t say I know the answers to these questions, but nothing in OKC’s track record suggests that these guys are going to get complacent.
Thunder skeptic: I thought you’d be more combative about this. Huh. Well, I guess my point is that if there isn’t significant growth, I could see OKC’s offense being its downfall this time. That wouldn’t even necessarily be a reflection of complacency on the Thunder’s part, but it would probably lead to some significant changes. For a team this loaded, anything less than another title will feel like a failure.