The NBA Has Never Seen Anything Like The Oklahoma City Thunder…

The NBA Has Never Seen Anything Like The Oklahoma City Thunder…

They’re 17-1 because they’ve got the MVP. Okay, but we also shout we also should shout out AJ Mitchell who’s filled in amazingly and he has been a complete difference maker for them averaging 17 points and two steals a game defending. They have a chance at 70 wins because of their depth. What if I told you there’s a team dominating the NBA so thoroughly that their best player barely needs to play in the fourth quarter? Gotas Alexander. Now Randall on the switch has him. Step back two. Got it. 29 for Gotas Alexander. A team with the best clutch rating and the best defense we’ve ever recorded. And they’re just getting started. I’m not going to rush past their 21-1 record just to jump into advanced numbers because 21 and 1 is legitimately one of the best starts in NBA history and most likely be 22 and one by the time you hear this. OKC just became the fourth team ever to win at least 21 of their first 22 games. Even the mighty Bulls, Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Phil Jackson, the team that went 72 and 10 and won the title in 9596. That legendary squad, even they lost twice in their first 22. This Thunder team is historically strong. Here’s who they just joined. The 201516 Warriors, 22-0. The 9394 Rockets, 21-1. The 6970 Knicks 21-1. And among those three teams, the Warriors went on to post the best record in league history at 73-9 and reach the finals before collapsing to the Cavs. The Rockets and Knicks both ended their seasons as NBA champions. And in case you forgot, last season Shade Gil’s Alexander le squad went 68 and4 before winning the title. And only six teams in NBA history had ever reached 68 wins before them. So, is it really a stretch to suggest this Thunder team might have a shot at 74 wins? Honestly, no. Between their roster continuity, their experience, and the natural progression of their core, the idea of them putting together the best regular season ever isn’t far-fetched at all. And the numbers are backing it up. OKC leads the entire NBA in defensive rating, giving up just 105.2 points per 100 possessions, a full 6.4 and four points fewer than the next closest team. They’re not just good defensively, they’re literally erasing people. How many times have we seen them explode on a 120 run of pure defensive pressure, jumping passing lanes, forcing turnovers, flying around like they’re shot out of a cannon. Those stretches break even the most composed veteran teams. They also lead the league with a net rating of 15. From a historical standpoint, that’s absurd. Not only would it be the best ever, it would shatter the previous record of 13.4 set by the 9596 Bulls. For context, last year’s Thunder already posted the second best mark ever at 12.8. And get this, the 73 win Warriors didn’t even finish with the best rating in the league that season. the 67 win Spurs with Duncan Parker Ginobi, a 24year-old Kawhai and LaMarcus Aldridge beat them by more than one full point. But so far this season, the Thunder don’t have anyone pushing them like that. At the time of recording this, the Pistons are 17 and 5, the Lakers are 15-5, the Rockets are 14-5, the Nuggets and Spurs are both 15-6. All great records, but none of them are close to OKC’s level. Calling the Thunder the title favorite right now feels a little bit like an understatement. As historic as this Thunder team already is, they’ve got a similarly historic engine driving the whole thing. But led by as many as 27. SGA pulls up a little contact. Reigning MVP Sha Gilis Alexander just logged his 94th straight 20point game, trailing only Wilt Chamberlain’s 126. SJ sits second in the league in scoring, and he makes it look routine. SJ somehow has been slightly better than he was during his MVP season, mostly thanks to a big jump in efficiency. Here’s how last year stacks up against what he’s doing right now. Look at the numbers on the screen because they tell the whole story. The shooting leveled up everywhere. Twos, threes, efficiency across the board. All reaching career highs, more playmaking, more pressure at the rim, more free throws. Just more of everything. And he did it without his number two creator beside him for the majority of these games. While defenses were throwing the kitchen sink at him every game, but there’s really only one number OKC is chasing right now. 74. They’re not just on pace to become the first team in a decade to crack 70 wins. They’re a real threat to surpass the 73 win mark set by the 1516 Warriors. And the crazy part, hitting 70 would barely be an upgrade over last year’s 68 win season. The focus is there, the continuity is there, the roster is absurdly balanced and deep, and both the players and coaches approach basketball with almost obsessive precision. Before their 21st win, Mark Dagnot was asked how a team with almost no flaws could still improve. His answer summed up everything about this group. All the stuff we’ve done well to this point doesn’t carry over. Tonight’s a new opportunity. The better team tonight will win. That’s the competitive challenge. And that’s one of the beauties of our players. That competitive challenge turns them on. That’s exactly the mindset he preached when they were tanking, when they made the play in 23, when they finished as the West number one seed in 24, and when they steamrolled the league on their way to last year’s title. And here’s the wildest part. This 21-1 record. They’ve done all of this while missing their second best player for a huge chunk of the season. Teams that want to play fast have a tendency to turn the basketball over. And Shay’s not going to be slowed down. He gets fouled on the drive. 24-year-old Jaylen Williams, coming off his first All-Star appearance, missed the first 19 games while recovering from a torn ligament in his right wrist. He’s a right-handed shooter who couldn’t use his dominant hand all off season. So, out of boredom and frustration, he started training exclusively with his left, even building an off-hand jumper. But in classic Thunder fashion, they already had a hidden gem ready to step in. AJ Mitchell, the 23-year-old guard drafted 38th out of UC Santa Barbara in 2024 and traded to OKC for the 40th pick and cash had a full-blown breakout in Williams absence. Across those first 19 games, he’s averaged 15.9 points, 3.8 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.7 steals. Aside from Mitchell’s breakout, OKC’s defensive core has been exactly what you’d expect. Lou Dort, Kesan Wallace, and Alex Caruso continue to be absolute nightmares at the point of attack. Aaron Wiggins remains the ultimate plug-and-play weapon, and Isaiah Hartenstein plus big Jaylen Williams gave Mark Dagnel two completely different looks, ranging from double big lineups with a playmaking hub at the center position to fully spread five out units. But there’s one young player who still feels surprisingly underdised given how important he’s been. Shay Gilis Alexander’s 20point streak has dominated headlines and the Thunder’s absurd team defense has gotten plenty of attention too and deservedly so. But Cadet Holgrren has been absolutely essential to this start and he’s quietly having a fantastic opening stretch himself. He’s averaging 18.4 points, eight rebounds, and leads the team with 1.4 blocks per game. At 7 foot1, Hongrren is OKC’s second leading scorer behind SGA. And even if he’s not matching MVP level volume, he’s actually been more efficient. He’s shooting 56% from the field, good for 12th in the entire league, and only three players above him are scoring more than he is. He’s also taken a real step forward at the line, knocking down 81% of his free throws, a careerhigh, and a big jump from last season, 75.4%. All of that has made Homegrren a potent scoring option during this run, especially while JDub was out. Last year, when everyone was healthy, Homegrren was clearly the third best option behind SGA and Williams. But with Williams missing those first 19 games, CE showed he can step up comfortably and dangerously into the role of a true number two. Yes, the Thunder have played the NBA’s easiest schedule so far, and they now face the league’s toughest remaining slate. So, the path forward isn’t going to be smooth. If they’re going to flirt with history, they have to avoid even the slightest slip into complacency. Their only loss this season was a two-point blip on November 5 against the Portland Trailblazers and outlier more than anything. But when you’re chasing 70, 73, or even 74 wins, you don’t get to take nights off. And if anyone understands that, it’s Golden State Steve Kerr. He coached the 15-16 Warriors to 73 wins, breaking the 959 96 Bulls record, a Bulls team he played on. When asked about what it takes to sustain that kind of excellence, Kerr highlighted something deeper than talent. In here wobbling, but have been competitively tough. Little back tip. Yas Alexander got the steal and the finish making it happen on both ends. Overall, a team mindset of zero agendas. Just win every night. Obviously great talent, but I think high IQ players. The two teams you’re referring to that I was a part of both had really, really high IQ individuals and as a team. That’s what I see with OKC. Really, really smart players, a great coach, really connected. They’re on pace to shatter the record. It’s pretty remarkable what they’re doing. And honestly, you can see it when they play. There’s zero sign of complacency, no championship hangover, no sense of entitlement. The Thunder just suffocate people. They overwhelm teams with pressure, picking up full court as easily as they lock in during half court sets. They’re built on efficiency, second in turnover percentage at 12.4% and first in turnovers forced at 17.9 per game. And when they hit you, it’s not in little bursts. Their scoring comes in avalanches that drain the life out of whoever’s standing in front of them. The scary thing, at least for the rest of the league, is that the Thunder are still the sixth youngest team in the NBA with an average age of 24 and a half entering the season. They’re coming off a championship run. They understand what it takes to get to the top and they already have a clear road map for how to get even better. But the wild card is the more they win, the heavier the pressure gets. The common notion was they’re not hunters anymore. They’re the hunted circled on every opponent’s calendar. And yet, it looks like they’re the ones doing the hunting. One of the best indicators of just how loaded this roster is. The Thunder aren’t just dominant, they’re so far ahead of everyone else that their stars barely touch the floor in the fourth quarter because the games are already over. Through 22 games, their best player set out for 10 fourth quarters. almost half of the closing frames. Either the Thunder are burying teams so completely that SGA doesn’t need to close games or the coaching staff has that much trust in their bench. Maybe both. Yes, strength of schedule matters, but it’s still absurdly impressive. And defensively, they’re so stacked that even SGA, who has legitimate defensive credentials himself, can’t pick a best defender on the team. He listed six different guys. Williams, Caruso, Dort, Wallace, Chad, and Hartenstein and explained why each one deserves a title. The conclusion, it doesn’t even matter as long as they keep strangling offenses, the label is irrelevant. Set him up on Thank you, Jacob settling in. And now being the big producer, Case Wallace off the steel. There is D elevation plus the foul. They’ve got the MVP. Their second and third best players are legit stars with long-term deals. Their bench is overflowing with NBA ready talent. Last season’s roster was the second youngest championship team ever behind only the 7677 Blazers. And somehow it keeps going. Their last two top 15 picks are talented players who won’t even suit up this season because of health reasons. And on top of that, they still have more incoming draft capital. Thanks to the 2019 Paul George trade, the Thunder owned the Clippers right to swap with Houston in the 2026 NBA draft. And with the Clippers opening the year 5 and 16, their worst start since 201011, that unprotected pick could land way up the board. Another top three pick is absolutely in play. And it doesn’t stop there. They also hold the Utah Jazz first round pick from the 2021 Derek Favors deal. It’s top eight protected, meaning if Utah finishes outside the top eight, OKC gets their pick. Hold on, I’m still not done. From the 2020 Al Horford trade, the Thunder also get Philly’s 2026 firstrounder if it falls outside the top four. The 2026 draft could become yet another massive infusion of talent on top of a team that already doesn’t have room for all the young talent it currently has. And this isn’t a team that’s been struggling or rebuilding anymore. The Thunder’s 69% win percentage over the last four seasons trails only the Boston Celtics who’ve been to two finals and won a championship in that stretch. I almost want to yell unfair, but it isn’t. The Thunder evaluated coaches, players, and characters at an elite level. They developed their guys the right way. Their players made the most of every opportunity they got. The organization stayed the course when things didn’t look great. They made smart deals. And now the rest of the NBA has to pay up because they’re here to collect the interest on their investment. This isn’t just a hot streak. This is the most terrifying rebuild turn superpower the NBA has ever seen. They have the MVP, they have the defense, and they might have three more lottery picks coming. The Oklahoma City Thunder aren’t just the future, they’re the present, and they’re rewriting history. Comment below if you think this is the greatest team ever assembled. And if you enjoyed this video, hit the like button, subscribe for more, and maybe check out one of these videos on your screen now.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are doing something the NBA has never seen before — and the league has no idea how to stop it. In today’s video, we break down why OKC has become one of the most dangerous, unpredictable, and uniquely constructed teams in history. Led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning MVP playing the most efficient basketball of his career, the Thunder are pairing elite scoring with elite defense, versatility, and a system built for long-term dominance.

#OKCThunder #SGA #ChetHolmgren #JalenWilliams