The OKC Thunder Have A Lot To Prove After Recent End-Of-Season Projection

ESPN projected what the league would look like at the end of the season, and the Thunder weren't at the top.

May 18, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) dunks in the first quarter against the San Antonio Spurs during game one of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

One projection for next season doesn’t favor the Thunder.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have gotten through a hectic offseason where the team had a major roster shake-up to keep the financial side of the franchise afloat. Now, as the newly revamped squad prepares for next season, it hopes that this coming season will end on a more positive note than the previous one. 

While OKC could still end the season with the organization's second-ever NBA Title, a recent ESPN article doesn’t think the squad will dominate in the regular season as it has in years past. 

ESPN did a projection of what the NBA landscape will look like at the end of the regular season this year, and if it’s correct, Oklahoma City wouldn’t take home the top seed in the West for the first time since the 2022-23 season. ESPN has OKC finishing in second place in the West with a record of 60-22, two games behind the San Antonio Spurs for the top seed. 

Being placed in this seed would set OKC up for a difficult championship run in the postseason, as they would have to matchup against a team from the play-in group before eventually squaring off against the Denver Nuggets, who were projected to finish at the third seed. While it is shocking, the seeding does make sense, as the Spurs added players while OKC took away. 

San Antonio added forward Tobias Harris to its up-and-coming roster to secure a true four spot, while the Thunder had to send three key role players on their way to make room financially. The loss of these three might not be the biggest difference in the playoffs, but they did help OKC win games down the course of a long regular season. 

Nonetheless, the Thunder are still determined to prove the projections wrong. They don’t need another dominating regular season to secure an NBA Title, but one likely will follow the other. If the Thunder are able to completely buy in from day one, there’s a chance that the team will get rid of early-stage jitters and go back to exactly the team they were when last season ended. 

It will be hard to start the season with no beginning jitters, but if anyone can do it, it’s Oklahoma City. The squad will be looking to prove that projections mean nothing and that what really matters is what happens between the lines on the hardwood.