National Media Confident in OKC Thunder's Title Defense After Game 1

Oklahoma City's dominant Game 1 victory against the Phoenix Suns earned praise from the national media.

Apr 19, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams (8) celebrates after scoring against the Phoenix Suns in the second half during game one of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The first round of the NBA Playoffs is underway, with all 16 teams at least one game into their first playoff series of the 2025-26 season.

In the Eastern Conference; the Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks and Boston Celtics each earned a victory in Game 1. In the Western Conference; the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder all took a 1-0 lead.

OKC turned in the widest margin of victory in Game 1, taking down Phoenix 119-84 at home. With the impressive win, the Thunder received plenty of praise from the national media, including the next day on ESPN.

Brian Windhorst noted his confidence in Oklahoma City's ability to repeat as champions, remarking how well Mark Daigneault's team performed on April 19.

"I think Oklahoma City was incredible yesterday," Windhorst said on an April 20 edition of First Take. "Tell me how someone is beating (the Thunder) four out of seven (times). ... Everybody that they put on the court was in its exactly correct defensive position at all times. Every rotation was crisp. Sub, immediatly come in, defensive rotation, crisp. One player is causing hell, they bring in another player, he causes hell, they bring in another player, he causes hell. I mean, it's incredible to watch."

"I think Oklahoma City was incredible yesterday. ... Everybody that they put on the court was in its exactly-correct defensive position at all times."@WindhorstESPN reacts to OKC's win over the Suns 👀 pic.twitter.com/j3mirpDUGw

— First Take (@FirstTake) April 20, 2026

The Thunder's defensive effort held Phoenix, who averaged 112.6 points per game in the regular season, to 84 points in Game 1. The Suns were without multiple key players, including starting big man Mark Williams and sharpshooter Grayson Allen, as well as Jordan Goodwin, who played five minutes before suffering an injury in the series opener.

Even without the aforementioned players, though, the Suns still had primary scorers Devin Booker, Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks on the floor, and were unable to muster a solid showing on offense.

As Windhorst mentioned, multiple OKC players starred on defense, as Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, among others, notched a few highlight plays on that end of the floor.

The Thunder's defense allowed Oklahoma City to come away with a 35-point win despite a lackluster shooting perfromance. Daigneault's team connected on just 30.4% of its 3-point attempts while Gilgeous-Alexander went 5-of-18 from the floor.

Even without the team's sharpest performance on offense, OKC's 34 points off turnovers ended up being the difference. If the Thunder continue to play dominant defense and run in transition, the team should be able to overcome poor shooting performances, similar to the group's 2024-25 playoff run.