Another year, another Northwest Division title for the Oklahoma City Thunder. While this isn\u2019t the season that many fans expected it to be, it\u2019s still impressive as it can be. With the Thunder\u2019s Northwest Division championship locked up, it\u2019s now time to move ahead and set expectations moving forward in the season.<\/p>\n
For the third straight year, OKC is reigning supreme<\/a> across the Northwest Division. This is the first time the team has achieved this feat. The last time they did? Four years in a row from 2011 to 2014, including eight of the last 16 seasons.<\/p>\n Thunder\u2019s Northwest Division Title Sets Expectations for OKC<\/p>\n Oklahoma City\u2019s division championship didn\u2019t come easy this season. They had to deal with numerous injuries for most of the campaign<\/a>. Even now, Jalen Williams<\/a> has yet to play healthy. There are still players undergoing injury management, meaning they haven\u2019t yet seen a Thunder team at full strength. If you are not impressed, they clinched the division title one day earlier than they did last season.<\/p>\n 8 division championships in the last 16 seasons. 50% of the time! 4 of the seasons that they didn\u2019t win they ended 2nd.<\/p>\n This is sustained success & should be celebrated. All of them didn\u2019t end in championships but good basketball is important. https:\/\/t.co\/mMA9fxtrGG<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Thunder Film Room (@ThunderFilmRoom) March 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n A Season Full of Challenges<\/p>\n Before they clinched the Northwest Division, the Thunder<\/a> were initially setting a 77-5 record<\/a>. That would have been the best record in league history, had it not been for the string of struggles and injuries they\u2019ve been facing. In fact, they went 24 games straight without a loss before dropping to a 24-1 record later on<\/a>. That\u2019s the same as the 73-9 Golden State Warriors in 2016.<\/p>\n Of course, that would go on to become the best record in league history. But the Warriors didn\u2019t win the NBA Finals that same season, ultimately blowing a 3-1 lead. Hopefully, the Thunder would avoid that same fate as they didn\u2019t clinch a record-breaking win-loss tally. Still, this is an impressive season for the team, considering they had as many as five players out with injuries.<\/p>\n Jalen Williams That’s 5 of OKC’s top 8 players out at the moment.<\/p>\n Thunder’s biggest issue right now is health.<\/p>\n \u2014 Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) January 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n As of the time of writing, only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a> and Chet Holmgren<\/a> remain as the tolerable \u201chealthy\u201d core players in the squad. J-Dub is yet to return consistently. Isaiah Hartenstein<\/a> is still on injury management, and we\u2019re seeing a couple of Thunder players take a rest due to minor injuries as well<\/a>. For OKC to secure the second-most division titles won since 2010 is definitely surprising, given the expectations they were facing.<\/p>\n What\u2019s Next for OKC?<\/p>\n With 12 games left to play in the NBA season, the Thunder are actually set for the playoff chase. By now, the team is expected to play a few more games to at least clinch the first seed in the West. As of now, Oklahoma City sits 3.5 games ahead<\/a> of the San Antonio Spurs for the top seed. This is a fragile state of affairs for the Thunder. Last season, OKC secured the first seed with a 16-game cushion.<\/p>\n This just means there will be extra play time for the Thunder\u2019s stars. SGA will be gunning for more games<\/a> under his belt until the final five games left at least. By that time, the best-case scenario for OKC would be seeing J-Dub finally on the court heading into the playoffs. There are still some hiccups worth solving for the Thunder, and now is the time to address them.<\/p>\n Ajay, Joe, McCain, iHart & Chet is going to go down as maybe my favorite Thunder bench line-up of all-time from a stylistic pov. <\/p>\n & it\u2019s going to have an insane net rating so that doesn\u2019t hurt either.<\/p>\n \u2014 Thunder Film Room (@ThunderFilmRoom) March 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The final rotation will vary for most of the remaining 12 games. We all know how deep the Thunder roster can be<\/a>, helping them secure the Northwest Division. Now more than ever, Mark Daigneault has some figuring out to do with the rest of the squad.<\/p>\n By now, OKC is sitting at the top of the West and will be hitting the 60-win mark by April 1st at the earliest. This just means they\u2019re in for another huge playoff run, and it says a lot about their hopes for a title repeat as well.<\/p>\n \u00a9 Brad Penner-Imagn Images<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Isaiah Hartenstein
Alex Caruso
Ajay Mitchell
Cason Wallace<\/p>\n