Can OKC Thunder Replicate Previous Dominance Against East?

The Thunder will have some battles out West, but dominance against the East could give them an advantage.

Mar 29, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams (8) drives past New York Knicks guard Mikal Bridges (25) during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Oklahoma City has hopes of winning another championship next season, and dominating against the East could help their chances.

After falling short in the Western Conference Finals last season, the Thunder will be looking to bounce back and add another championship. Of course, it won’t be easy for the Thunder to get another title next season.

Over the offseason, Oklahoma City dealt Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe for financial reasons to get under the second apron and open up roster spots for its incoming rookies. While most of the postseason rotation has remained intact, the Thunder still have some holes to fill in the regular season, which will force them to rely upon some of their youngest players.

Given the potential implications on the rotation, there could be some slippage for Oklahoma City next season. As the West has seen some star power shifts and some interesting moves in the offseason, the Thunder still remain the favorite alongside San Antonio, but there should be some battles all season.

With that in mind, the Thunder could find their way back to the top of the Western Conference standings by beating up on opponents from the other conference. While the East saw an influx of star power this offseason and some major shakeups, the Thunder could still find ways to find consistent success against those squads.

Last season, the Thunder went 23-7 against the East, tied for second-best in the West alongside Houston and behind San Antonio’s 26-4 mark. Considering the Spurs will be the Thunder’s top competition for the top seed, they may need to end the year with a better record against the East.

Considering all of the injury issues last season, Oklahoma City may just need a bit of luck on its side in that area to replicate some of its success against the East from its championship season. In 2024-25, the Thunder managed a 29-1 mark against the Eastern Conference, which is the best interconference record in league history.

It’d obviously be unrealistic to expect the Thunder to finish 29-1 against the East again and make history another time, but putting together a season of winning nearly 90% of their games against the East could be well within reach. Assuming Oklahoma City could take care of business at home in those matchups, it may only have a handful of dangerous games on the road, and getting those to go its way could put the team in a great position to hold the No. 1 seed again.