Three Teams Who Are Trying To Take The Thunder's Throne This Postseason

While OKC is looking for its second championship in a row, other teams are doing everything they can to stop them.

Apr 8, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Kris Dunn (8) defends Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams (8) as he drives to the basket in the second half at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Thunder’s attempt at a second NBA Championship in a row will not come without bumps in the road. 

The postseason for the defending champs will start Sunday, against whichever team takes the eight-seed in the NBA Play-In Tournament. This will be the beginning of the Thunder’s journey to reclaim the title that belongs to them, but it won’t be easy. 

Even though Oklahoma City is the overall one-seed in the NBA, there are plenty of teams that will be battling for the chance to be called world champions, and know OKC will be the biggest giant they have to slay to do that. 

The Thunder will get everyone’s best every series, and will have to give their best in return. 

Here are three teams looking to play Cinderella against OKC in the playoffs.

Apr 12, 2026; Los Angeles, California; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts in the first half against the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Lakers

The Thunder would take on the Lakers in the second round of the playoffs, with L.A. claiming the four-seed. It’s rumored that Luka Doncic is set to return for the Lakers soon, and with him, Los Angeles becomes a whole different team. 

Doncic led the league in scoring this year, averaging 33.5 points per game. Along with this, he ranked third in assists per game with 8.3. Oklahoma City swept the Lakers this regular season and shouldn’t be too worried about the Lakers pulling off an upset, but a team with Doncic and LeBron James can never truly be counted out. 

Apr 10, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) during the first half against the Dallas Mavericks at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

San Antonio Spurs

The Oklahoma City Thunder would meet San Antonio in the Western Conference Finals, in a matchup that most would consider the real NBA Finals. These two teams have the two best records in the league, and the Spurs seemed to be the only team that figured out how to consistently beat the Thunder this year, taking the regular-season series 4-1.

Of course, both teams will have to make it to this point, but if the regular season is any indicator, this could easily be OKC’s toughest playoff series they come across. The Thunder will have to be ready to prove the past losses wrong and show that they have what it takes to take down Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs. 

Jan 22, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) reacts after a play during the second quarter against the LA Clippers at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images | Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images

Boston Celtics

Of course, you have to throw an East team that OKC would see in the Finals in here, and it could very well be the Celtics. They didn’t end the year with the best record, but their roster has playoff experience, and has a recovering Jason Tatum that looks more comfortable every game. 

Boston allows the least amount of points per game in the entire league, with 107.2, which is the only team beating OKC in that category. It might be the consensus of whoever comes out of the West will be the NBA Champion, but that kind of thinking in the Finals will get OKC beat if they aren’t prepared.