What version of the OKC Thunder was the best? 2011-12 or 2024-25?
The Thunder dreams again with the possibility of a championship more than a decade of the only trip that Oklahoma City has made to the NBA finals.
Oklahoma City Thunder It has been, however much, the best team in the NBA in the 2024-25 season. The current campaign represents a year in which the set was expected to take another step forward, after obtaining 57 victories the previous season and reached the semifinal of the West Conferencewhere the dream of triumph was alibigated by the Dallas Maverickswho ended up reaching the final of the NBA.
However, the 66 victories of the 2024-25 season are, in definitely, more than anyone could imagine the beginning of it and the fact that they have been a historically dominant team, it is something that few could anticipate.
That said, it is not the first time in history that Thunder He has hopes for championship to Oklahoma City Since his arrival in 2009. Everyone reminds the team of the 2011-12 season that the final series reached and lost in five games the final against the Miami Heat of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. In that Thunder Some of the greatest talents in the league were gathered, headed by the duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrookbut it was also involved James Hardenwho the same year won the prize as’Best sixth man‘of the League.
That season is maintained, to date, the only one in which the Thunder reached the finals, despite arriving in the following two seasons until the final of the West Conference.
Said all this, a question arises: What version of Thunder is the best? The version of the young duo of Durant-Westbrook or the current one, an impressive force headed by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Both young, talented, well directed and effective teams, but only one has solid arguments to be historically dominant.
For the purpose of answering that question, we must take several factors into account.
The quality of talent
The truth is that the version of the 2011-12 campaign of the Thunder had names like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibakaall with less than 24 years, at that time, so the roof and expectations were high. However, despite having a lot of talent, they did not have a clear structure, which eventually brought with it the breakdown of that nucleus.
The 2024-25 version of the Thunder He is young, like his predecessors, but his core plays as if he had gathered a long time. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander He is an exciting player, he is the favorite to win the award MVP and his behavior and game intelligence resembles that of a league veteran. To your talent is added Chet Holmgrenwho defends the hoop and the painted area as if we were seeing the regional of Kevin Garnett at their best and if we add the system implemented by the coach Mark Daigneaultthe reason the team has the best record of the league becomes clearer.
Another aspect that leans in favor of the current version of the Thunder As the best in the history of the franchise is that it has the second best rating (statistics that measures the difference between the offensive and defensive performance of a team) of all time, +12.4, only behind Chicago Bulls of the 1995-96 season, which was +13.4.
The important thing about this number is that it is not any statistics. Taking as reference the other nine teams of the historical Top 10 in Net rating, eight reached the final of the NBA and seven were crowned champions.
On his side, the Thunder From the 2011-12 season, it does not appear in that conversation. His net rating was a decent +6.5, which is good, but not of historical proportions.
Going to the points differential, the current version of the Thunder has the biggest differential of points per game in the history of the NBAeven surpassing the Warriors of the 2016-17 campaign and the Bulls from 1995-96, even to Lakers of 1971-72.
The average differential of points of this Oklahoma City It is 12.58, courtesy, in principle of having 51 victories in which they won by ten points or more. The Thunder of Durant and Westbrook It does not appear in the historical list.
Regarding that version of Thunderhe was one that lived from individual talent and the explosiveness of his players. Durant, Westbrook and Harden They resolved the parties by instinct, while they were in a relatively basic offensive system and had an irregular defense, which knew how to exploit the Heat in the final of that campaign.
He Thunder From 2025, on the other hand, he plays with an amazing tactical discipline. Synchronized cuts, ‘Spacing‘Perfect, movements without ball. Jalen Williams, Lu Dort, Isaiah Joeeach piece fits, each player understands his role. It is basically the opposite of the offensive anarchy of 2011-12.
Another element in favor of this Thunder It is that at this time it is the number 28 in free throws and the number 25 in free throws. This means that they do not need the help of the whistle to develop their offensive, which is key in the playoffs when, regularly, the referees tend to let over more situations without calling faults.
With respect to the protagonists of both teams, Durantin his seventh season in the league, he averaged more points, more rebounds and more blockages than Gilgeous-Alexanderwho exceeds him in assists, ball robberies and shooting percentage. Durant It was slightly better than the Canadian in percentages of free and three shots and had received more selections to the first team of the NBAto the Star set And I already had a prize like MVP. The advantage in this case is for Durant.
Taking all these aspects into account, we can reach two conclusions. The first of these is that although the Thunder 2011-12 had more individual talent, it was a team that broke before reaching the highest level and does not appear among the great historical teams of the League.
It is important to add at this point, that the best year that the franchise had in terms of the deep that arrived in the postseason, came from the hand of a cut season that began on December 25, so the team arrived much cooler to the postseason, of what the current one will arrive.
The second conclusion is that the current version of the Thunder It is a historical team in basically all its facets. Unlike the other, this can defend in a consistent manner, it does not depend only on the individualities and is headed by a player who is probably the best on the court during all the playoffs series they play, something that Durant could not say once he faced James and the Heat In 2012.
This Thunder You have all the possibilities of transforming into a dynasty, which we did not see occur with the version of Durant and Westbrookdespite all your talent.
The answer then becomes clear: the current version of the Thunder It is a better team than that of 2011-12.
