Thunder seeks to be the first two-time NBA champion since the Warriors
Thunder begins a new NBA season with a challenge: Be the first two-time champion since the Warriors.
The Oklahoma City Thunder start a new season of the NBA with two labels on the chest: that of champions… and that of the rival to beat.
The Thunder will be viewed differently by the other 29 teams because of their title and because, in addition, they start as the favorites to be two-time champions.
What challenges does OKC face? The experts of AM850 analyze this and other questions from Oklahoma City.
1- Will the Thunder repeat as champions in 2025-26?
Fiction: Since Steve Kerr and Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers consecutively in the 2017 and 2018 Finals, there has not been a two-time NBA champion. The Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State, Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics have tried since then without success, in an increasingly competitive League in which repeating became impossible. The Thunder will have to avoid injuries, game losses (after several had the best numbers of their careers) and the possibility that their offensive and defensive system has been deciphered, with the same block with which they achieved success just a few months ago, but with 29 teams focused on a single objective, some reinforced and with experience on how to climb to the top. —Juan Pablo Sánchez
Reality: In the world of betting, the undisputed favorite to win the next NBA championship is precisely Oklahoma City. In a league where there hasn’t been a back-to-back since Golden State in 2017 and 2018, that prediction is a huge boost. To support this, we point out that the defending champions did not lose anyone important in the offseason, and the base of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams They are so young that we cannot even consider that they have reached their maximum level. The competition – especially in the West – has improved this year, but the Thunder are equipped to surpass them with the best trio of stars in the NBA. —Eric Gomez
2- A number for Thunder heading into the season…
25.4 The average age of Oklahoma City’s projected starting lineup for this season. This number was calculated using the ages of Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander (27 years old), Luguentz Dort (26), Jalen Williams (24), Chet Holmgren (23) and Isaac Harstestein (27). This number would drop to 24.2 if Cason Wallace enters in Harstestein’s place, as often happened several times last season. This team just won the championship and became the second youngest to be champion, only surpassed by the 1977-78 Portland Trail Blazers. In 2025-26, they may be the youngest team to repeat as champions.
As young as you saw them, they went 64-18 and combining the regular season and playoffs, their point differential was the fourth-highest in history at 11.8, behind the 1970-71 Bucks (12.6), the 2016-17 Warriors (12.0) and the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls (11.9), according to NBA.com. With one more year of maturity and experience, a title won and the same squad, all this can improve if they maintain focus and hunger. —Hiram Martinez
3- The best/worst version of the team…
The best: After what was done last season in which they practically dominated the league until reaching the championship, it seems difficult to see a better version of the Oklahoma City Thunder for the campaign that is about to begin.
The monarch team made few changes to its roster and, most importantly, kept its starting five intact, so coach Mark Daigneault has everything to lead OKC again to a long run in the playoffs and surely until the NBA Finals.
The Thunder are probably the biggest favorites for the title; However, in a long season like the NBA, nothing should be taken for granted. If OKC can be asked for improvement, perhaps it would be in the center position in which German Isaiah Hartenstein had complications throughout the previous tournament due to injuries, but from then on, the Thunder have no cracks.
The worst: Maybe that’s what some teams tend to fall into after winning a title, overconfidence. Not to mention a lack of motivation, the Thunder players are competitors par excellence. Another path to the ‘worst’ could be injuries to their key players, something that could unbalance the team’s order and cause one or another headache. —Roland of the Forest
4- Outside of SGA, which player is emerging as Thunder’s X factor?
I’ll say Chet Holmgren based on expectations and untapped potential. Sure, Jalen Williams would be an accepted answer as well, but Holmgren at 7-1 has a massive (literal) ceiling he’s looking to reach.
Already one of the best defensive players in the NBA, Holmgren has plenty of room to refine his offensive game, both with the ball in hand and with his developing three-point shot; think something similar to Victor Wembanyama. And let’s not forget that with Wemby and Nikola Jokic, among other star big men doing their jobs in the West, Holmgren’s presence as a defensive lynchpin becomes more important.
Although the health factor is key, at only 23 years of age, Holmgren has everything to leave his mark in the modern NBA. His short- and long-term development is crucial to the hopes (and expectations) of OKC and its potential dynasty. —Victor O. Lopez
