It has been a phenomenal season for the reigning champs. They are on the verge of joining the 1996-97 Bulls and 2015-17 Warriors as the only teams to win at least 65 games in consecutive seasons. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is also on pace to win back-to-back MVPs. The only other guards to accomplish this feat are Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Steve Nash and Stephen Curry. 

Oklahoma City is focused on hoisting another championship trophy, but the difficulty of its path can radically change over the final week of the regular season. Here are scenarios that the Thunder should be rooting for with a few games left. 

Basketball Reference currently gives the Thunder a 97.5% chance to claim the one seed, but the race is not over until it’s over. 

Oklahoma City and San Antonio both have four games remaining on their schedules. The champs need two Thunder wins, two Spurs losses or one of each in order to clinch the top seed. 

For example, if Philadelphia manages to defeat San Antonio tonight, then Oklahoma City can secure home-court advantage throughout the entire playoffs by winning its next game against a Lakers squad sans Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. 

Earning the best record is crucial because the champs play far better at home. During last season’s title run, Oklahoma City went 11-2 at home compared to 5-5 on the road. The energy inside Paycom Center fuels their defense and gives more confidence to their shaky shooters. 

Let’s assume the Thunder takes care of business and finishes with the best record in the West. This means its second round series would be against either the fourth or fifth seed. The worst case scenario is Denver occupying one of these two seeds, so the champs should be rooting for the Nuggets to climb to the three seed. 

Los Angeles and Denver are currently tied in the standings, and both teams have four games remaining. However, the Nuggets must win one more game than the Lakers during this stretch because Los Angeles owns the tiebreaker. 

Lakers remaining schedule: 

Nuggets remaining schedule: 

Los Angeles indisputably has an easier slate, but Dončić and Reaves are both sidelined for these games. The team is highly vulnerable without them, as evidenced by its loss to a tanking Mavericks squad. 

Meanwhile, Oklahoma City can easily clinch the top seed before its game against Denver, which means the champs very likely rest their veterans against the Nuggets. San Antonio may also rest its starters during its matchup against Denver, but the Spurs could also throw its best punch to try to knock the Nuggets to the fourth seed. 

Overall, Thunder fans should be rooting for Denver to win at least one more game than Los Angeles over the final four games. This scenario means the Nuggets and Spurs are both on the other side of the bracket, which is a massive win for the Thunder. 

Since the Lakers’ floor is the fifth seed and Houston has a three game lead over Minnesota for the fifth seed, it’s highly probable that the Timberwolves claim the sixth seed and also winds up on the other side of the bracket. 

A second round series against the Rockets or an injury-riddled Lakers team is the absolute best case scenario for the Thunder. The champs would then face whoever emerges from the bloodbath that is San Antonio, Denver and Minnesota. 

Oklahoma City still possesses an unprotected 2026 first-round pick via the Clippers. If Los Angeles loses in the play-in tournament, then it falls to the lottery and hands the champs roughly a 6% chance of receiving a top-four pick (give or take a percent or two). 

The Thunder snagging a prized prospect like AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer or Caleb Wilson would be catastrophic for the rest of the NBA but feel like good karma with the tenth anniversary of Kevin Durant departing for Golden State being this July. 

Los Angeles and Portland both have four games remaining, and they are tied in the standings. The Blazers must win at least one more game than the Clippers to steal the eight seed, thus forcing Los Angeles to win two consecutive play-in games to reach the playoffs rather than one play-in game. 

But rooting for Denver to win against Portland tonight is the main priority because the Nuggets climbing to the three seed is more important than a better chance at a lottery ticket.