OKC Thunder's Dominance Has Brought Pressure To The Postseason

The only way OKC can have a positive postseason would be for a championship run.

Mar 29, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) high fives his team during introductions before a game against the New York Knicks at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

A big season brings along big expectations. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder have wrapped up their regular season and are awaiting to see what team they will face in their first-round matchup, starting on Sunday. As this playoff run is about to start, OKC might be the favorites to run it back, but the pressure is definitely on. 

It’s hard to take the league by storm when you’re already coming off a championship, but OKC managed to do that this season. It had one of the best starts to a season in NBA history, opening up the year 24-1, and dominating every team in its way. 

This translated into the Thunder claiming the No. 1 seed in the West for the third year in a row when the year was said and done.  Oklahoma City has proved that in this position, they have the ability to win it all, so now that they are in familiar circumstances, the playoffs turn into another ring or a failure. 

That might be harsh to say, but the Thunder have proved they can be leaps and bounds above their opponents. OKC ranks in the top five teams in the league in both points per game and points allowed per game. This, in turn, gives them the greatest point differential in the league at +11.1. The closest team to the Thunder is nearly three points below them in differential. 

Another differential that the Thunder dominated this season was the turnover differential. Oklahoma City turned the ball over the second-least times per game, only averaging 12 a night. The suffocating Thunder defense, however, caused opponents to average 15.9 turnovers a game, meaning OKC netted nearly four extra possessions a night. 

The Thunder’s performance this season, along with all the key pieces that helped them win a championship last year, has made OKC the favorite in a lot of people’s eyes. 

According to DraftKings, the Thunder have the best odds to win the 2026 NBA Finals at +110 odds. The second-best odds are the San Antonio Spurs, whose odds fall all the way down to +550. 

To paint the picture even more of how much pressure is on OKC, DraftKings has given the Thunder -160 odds of winning the Western Conference Finals. 

All of these things can be accomplished, just as Oklahoma City has done before, but there is a lot more pressure this time. Once you do something once, everyone expects you to do it again, and the world is expecting OKC to raise that second banner come June.