Fresh off a championship era, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s squad must navigate roster shifts and injury returns to join the NBA's most elite dynasties with a third consecutive dominance.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are coming off one of the best two season runs in NBA history.
In 2024-2025, OKC cruised to a 68-14 record, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won NBA MVP and the team won the NBA Championship.
In 2025-2026, OKC finished with a 64-18 record, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won NBA MVP and the team were just a couple plays from returning to the NBA Finals.
Coming into 2026-2027, the expectation is that OKC will continue their dominance and will be one of the two best teams in the league, alongside the San Antonio Spurs.
But it's unfair to expect the Thunder to log another 60+ win season. Only five franchises in league history have ever pulled off the hat trick and it's the greatest teams the sport has ever seen. Both Bill Russell and Larry Bird's Boston Celtics, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's Milwaukee Bucks, Magic Johnson's Los Angeles Lakers, Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls and Steph Curry's Golden State Warriors. That's the list.
It's possible that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's OKC Thunder joins that exclusive club, but it will be a tall task. The Western Conference only got better this offseason. Fewer teams are going to actively tank. And Oklahoma City lost three regular rotation players in Lu Dort, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins.
Here's the thing, though. Even if the Thunder win fewer games, they can still be a better team than they were last season. There are three key reasons how Mark Daigneault's squad can improve next season.
3. Internal Development. Despite all the success, this is still a very young team. And many of the key players are still growing and improving. Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren may be All-Stars, but they are both still a couple years away from their prime. Cason Wallace and Jared McCain are only 22 years old. Ajay Mitchell only has 93 career regular season games under his belt. Jaylin Williams comes back better every year. And this team is adding lottery level talents to the rotation in Nikola Topic, Thomas Sorber, Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz.
2. Big Minutes Going To Great Players. All due respect to Dort, Joe and Wiggins. That trio etched their names in Thunder history and became Oklahoma legends for winning the state's first ever pro sports title. Dort especially made an impact both on court and on the culture that will never be forgotten. But their minutes from last season will now mostly be soaked up by Jalen Williams, Ajay Mitchell, Cason Wallace and Jared McCain. Williams and Mitchell were sidelined for big stretches of the season and the playoffs but should be healthy for training camp. Wallace will take on an even bigger role. McCain didn't join the team until the trade deadline. Those rotation minutes are in good hands.
1. Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell are back. This one is easy. Williams is OKC's second best player and he missed the majority of the year and essentially all of the playoffs. Mitchell is probably OKC's fourth best player and missed 25 games of the regular season and most of the Western Conference Finals. When two of a team's four best players return, that team stands to get better.
