The OKC Thunder's Best Chance at Three All-NBA Nods Could be Next Season

If the Oklahoma City Thunder's big three remain healthy, the franchise's first season with three All-NBA players could be underway.

May 26, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8), forward Chet Holmgren (7) and guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) talk to the media after defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves in game four of the western conference finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In the team's 18 years since moving to Oklahoma City, the Thunder have never had three players in a single season get selected to the All-NBA teams. Each of the past two years, the team has had two members, back-to-back league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and one of Jalen Williams or Chet Holmgren as the other.

During this same time frame, Oklahoma City's "Big 3" have failed to have a fully healthy year together. In 2024-25, Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams were All-NBA while Holmgren missed too many games to qualify for awards; Holmgren joined the reigning MVP on the teams, with Williams missing most of the season in 2025-26.

For this core to continue to make history, a healthy season between the trio would be a great place to start, especially in a season when OKC is missing three strong regular-season performers from previous years. If completely healthy, there's no reason the Thunder do not have three members of the All-NBA teams.

To start, Gilgeous-Alexander has been on the All-NBA First Team every season he's been selected to one, making four consecutive selections from 2022-26. The future Hall of Famer is as close to a lock a player can get three months before the season begins to make one of the three teams in 26-27.

Holmgren has had two highly successful full seasons, with an injury-redshirted rookie year and a hip-injury-plagued second season that was salvaged by a strong performance in the team's NBA Finals run. For the fourth-year big man, it's been as simple as staying on the floor for continued elite play.

The Gonzaga product has racked up awards in both of his healthy seasons of professional basketball, finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting for a spot on the All-Rookie First Team in 2023-24 and qualifying for the All-NBA Third Team and All-Defensive First Team in 2025-26. With continued improvement, another Defensive Player of the Year-caliber season and All-NBA nod should be on the way for Holmgren.

Williams had a healthy first three seasons of professional basketball until his body was put through the wringer this past season. The Santa Clara product has shown linear growth in every full season he has played, earning his first All-NBA and All-Defensive team appearances in the Thunder's 2024-25 championship-winning season.

The all-purpose wing had an overlooked DPOY case two seasons ago, anchoring the league's best defense without Holmgren while garnering a heavy offensive work rate, and will be expected to take on large defensive pressure in 2026-27. With positive regression in a healthy season, Williams should reach All-NBA glory once again.

If the team's top trio stay healthy in 2026-27, the Thunder have a chance to become the first team since the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors to have three All-NBA honorees in the same season.