Who are OKC Thunder's Biggest Challengers After the All-Star Break?

Coming into the 2025-26 NBA season, the Oklahoma City Thunder appeared to have the best chance at repeating as champions since the Golden State Warriors went back-to-back in 2017 and 2018.

After going 68-14 in 2024-25 and capping the year off with a title, OKC returned nearly its entire roster, swapping out a few players on the end of the bench. To begin the current campaign, Mark Daigneault's team looked to be well on its way to another championship, tying an NBA-record 24-1 start.

Since then, however, Oklahoma City hasn't had nearly the same success. The Thunder have gone 18-13 since the historic start, and has already drawn even with last year's squad in the loss column. While OKC leads the league in wins, there are a few teams who have the chance to challenge the reigning champions.

Denver Nuggets

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and company defeated Denver when the two met for the first time this season, but both teams were missing multiple starters in that contest.

The Nuggets gave OKC all it could handle in the 2025 playoffs, as the teams battled for seven games before the Thunder eventually earned a hard-fought 4-3 series victory.

Superstar Nikola Jokic's talent alone gives Denver enough fire power to be a formidable opponent, but the emergence of Peyton Watson alongside continued solid play from Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon make the Nuggets one of the biggest threat to OKC's title hopes down the stretch.

Denver is 6.5 games behind Oklahoma City in the Western Conference Standings at the All-Star break.

San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs have shown that, regardless of who is on the floor for Daigneault's team, San Antonio can compete well with the Thunder.

Both teams have already met five times this season, with Mitch Johnson's squad winning each of the first three games. OKC finally got its revenge with a 21-point win on Jan. 13, before the Spurs defeated a depleted Oklahoma City roster to close out the season series.

The Spurs are clearly a challenging matchup for the Thunder, but would the young group be able to knock off a team that has championship experience in its first playoff run?

San Antonio is three games behind Oklahoma City in the Western Conference Standings at the All-Star break.

Detroit Pistons

While OKC has the most wins in the NBA, Detroit owns the league's best winning percentage at the All-Star break with a 40-13 record.

The Thunder and Pistons haven't squared off yet this season, and it is currently difficult to determine how the two squads stack up against each other. The Thunder will play in Detroit on Feb. 25 for the first matchup between the two, while the Pistons will be in Oklahoma City on March 30.

Detroit and OKC would both have to reach the finals for the Pistons to challenge the Thunder's title chances, but in an open Eastern Conference, there is a chance the two play for a championship.

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