OKC Thunder Listed as Championship ‘Buy’

There’s plenty of reasons to buy the Thunder’s odds at making a championship run.

Dec 1, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) controls the ball as Houston Rockets forward Amen Thompson (1) defends during the game at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City has been one of the best teams in basketball dating back to last season. This year, the Thunder’s start to the season has been extra impressive.

Even with Chet Holmgren sidelined, the team still looks like a well-oiled machine. Oklahoma City has depth at every position and stats leading the way. Currently, Mark Daigneault’s squad sits at 17-5 with a 2.5 game lead on the top spot in the Western Conference. The Thunder are outscoring opponents by 12.0 points on average, which leads the NBA.

This week, Bleacher Report wrote an article listing each contender as a buy or sell candidate based on championship odds. To no surprise, Oklahoma City was a buy.

“Oklahoma City's defense remains elite, verging on historical, in Holmgren's absence,” Dan Favale wrote. “You'd prefer to have him available and operating at his peak, but Isaiah Hartenstein—while far from an upgrade—provides more heft at the less glamorous end without compromising versatility.



“Near-total offensive dependence on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is more unsettling. Most of the unease is stamped out by Jalen Williams. Running units on his own remains a stretch, particularly without Holmgren, but his continued progression as a shot-creator should playoff-proof the offense in tandem minutes with SGA.”

Obviously Holmgren raises this team’s ceiling a tremendous amount, but it’s encouraging to see the Thunder still dominating with him sidelined. The potential for this team to be great is obvious.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s usage is high, but it’s no different from years past. And as the season goes on, more players will have opportunities to step up and handle the ball to take some pressure off the team’s stars. An immediate name that comes to mind is rookie Ajay Mitchell, who has inserted himself into the rotation and seems to take a bit more responsibility with each passing game.

This stretch of basketball has been promising for the Thunder to say the least, and the ceiling is clearly high.

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