Boston Celtics Legend Makes Bold Claim About OKC Thunder Competition

What a difference a year makes. 12 months ago, it seamed to be a near certainty that the Oklahoma City Thunder and Boston Celtics would clash in the 2025 NBA Finals. The Celtics were the reigning NBA Champions and sat with a top three record in the NBA before settling into the No. 2 seed out East.

However, disaster struck in more than one way during the second round of the NBA Playoffs. The Celtics went iced cold from beyond the arc having Mazzulla Ball fail on them for the first time against the New York Knicks. To make matters worse, star forward Jayson Tatum suffered a torn achilles with the series decided.

That made for six straight years of the reigning champions failing to make it even out of the second round of the NBA playoffs much less repeat as Champions, giving more credance to the parity era the NBA has found themselves in for the first time in league history.

The Oklahoma City Thunder went on to dispel narratives. They ended up not being too young, not needing to first take their lumps before getting the reward and the supporting cast around superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ended up being good enough to hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy for the first time in franchise history.

Gilgeous-Alexander swept the MVP honors getting the NBA, Western Conference Finals and NBA Finals awards. His co-star Jalen Williams dropped 40 points in a pivotal NBA Finals tilt with the Pacers. The third member of this star studded trio? Chet Holmgren set an NBA record in Game 7 of the NBA Finals with five blocks to put the exclamation point on this crews first title.

While 12 months ago we were crowning the Celtics as the NBA's next dynasty, the attention shifts to Oklahoma City for that claim. For good reason. The Thunder not only have the deeper and more talented roster, but own more long term flexibility, a core that is only getting better internally and are off to a 24-2 start in the 2025-26 campaign.

This has led the NBA world to search high and low for a competitor with the Thunder. The Denver Nuggets are a staple of that conversation, some love Houston's defense and others are really fascinated by the Spurs who handed Oklahoma City their second loss of the year.

NBA Legend Paul Pierce on his podcast, no fouls given, attacked this from a different angle. A more level headed and long-term approach to who or what could hinder an OKC Thunder dynasty long-term.

“The Boston Celtics are the only team in the NBA that stands in front of an OKC dynasty," Pierce said. "Not this year, but generally speaking for the next five years."

Pierce was quick to clarify not this season which only strengthens his point. While the Tatum-less Celtics have been better than advertised to start the 2025-26 season, the Green and White are not poised to contend this season even if their star can return toward the end of the year.

"I know Jaylen Brown is playing like an MVP. I know we got championship experience. And we still relatively guys in their prime," Pierce explained. "Everybody ripping them off this year. Everybody saying we're not a playoff or play-in team. That shows you we the only team, even though we're rebuilding on the fly."

Pierce is right. The East has remained wide open despite Boston shipping off expensive contracts and taking a gap year on contending. This has been a masterful job by Brad Stevens who has kept enough meat on the bone to not only be good this season, but a roster that only has one glaring issue once Tatum returns: Their front court.

Sure, it will take some maneuvering, but the Celtics are close once healthy to being the kings of the Eastern Conference yet ago with an open path to the Finals that leaves them even more unscathed than the tougher path for Oklahoma City out West. While also owning the star power to compete on the biggest stage and title experience. Yes, Pierce is biased as a Celtics legend, but he is also right long-term regarding the Eastern Conference.