The Oklahoma City Thunder are one of the best teams in NBA history, although one ESPN expert isn’t sure that their success is sustainable.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, designed by Sam Presti, are the class of the NBA, and now they have a championship to prove it.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren look like an elite young core, and Lu Dort, Alex Caruso, Isaiah Hartenstein, Isaiah Joe, Cason Wallace, and Aaron Wiggins round out an elite roster.
That’s not to mention the two first-round picks the Thunder boast in the 2025 NBA Draft or Nikola Topic, last year’s lottery pick who is yet to make his NBA debut.
With a young roster all under contract, the Thunder are expected to be the league’s next dynasty, although one expert urged fans to pump the brakes.
The NBA has not had a repeat champion since the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018. In fact, it’s been since 2019 since a team (the Warriors) even made the Finals in back-to-back years.
Of course, some dynasties, like the San Antonio Spurs, never won back-to-back titles, although with only one ring to boast about, the Thunder are far from running the league for the long term.
“Are people not paying attention, or did they not pay attention to the Boston Celtics?” asked Michael Wilbon. “Oh, they were last year’s dynasty. Oh, Tatum, Brown, we got so many people, we got Derrick White, we got this, that.”
With devastating injuries seemingly happening every week, the second apron always looming, and general chemistry threats always a concern, building a multi-year dynasty requires both final sacrifice and on-court humility to work, and the Thunder are yet to prove that they can overcome those obstacles.
“Every team is one contract dispute, one locker room dispute, and one snapped Achilles away from a fourth-place finish and a second-round exit,” Wilbon continued. “We need to have learned that by now.”
Wilbon readily admitted that out of any team in the league, the Thunder are the best-poised to become the next dynasty, although that doesn’t mean they have a realistic shot.
Wilbon names contracts, injuries, and locker-room feuds as factors that could bring OKC back to Earth. Injuries are unpredictable, although the Thunder currently boast enough depth to replace almost anyone if needed, and the team seems tightly-knit with a positive culture.
However, by the end of next season, Williams and Holmgren will both be due for an extension, and with $149.3 million already committed in the 2026-27 season, both players will be offered less than the maximum, which is what they expect and deserve.
Will both young stars agree to take less money? That remains to be seen. Will Gilgeous-Alexander remain healthy next season? Hopefully, but if he doesn’t, then the Thunder can’t really compete in a crowded Western Conference.
Wilbon is spot on with his assertion. The Celtics last season were touted as the next dynasty, and the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, and Denver Nuggets all received the same treatment.
None of those teams have made it back to the Finals since they won their ring, and while the Thunder are younger than those teams were, building a multi-year contender is harder than ever.
