Why OKC Thunder Will Repeat as NBA Champions

No matter if you just won the NBA Championship or you enter the postseason breaking a long postseason drought, the goal for all 16 teams is the same: Win a title.

Oklahoma City is tasked with defending the throne in this year's NBA Playoffs, having just won its franchise's first title last June. The Thunder are attempting to be the first back-to-back champions since 2018, when the Golden State Warriors pulled it off.

The OKC Thunder have gone wire-to-wire as the best team in basketball. The team rattled off 64 wins this season, a year after posting 68 victories en route to the 2025 NBA Title.

Despite dealing with a slew of injuries highlighted by All-NBA swingman Jalen Williams only logging 33 games, with only seven in their rotation playing over 65 games and just two crossing the 70-game mark, the Thunder still dominated.

Along the way, despite losing four more games than they did a year ago, Oklahoma City has progressed to the point where the team is a better overall unit than they were a year ago in April.

It started before the 2025-26 campaign even began. The Oklahoma City Thunder, being pushed to the brink against the Denver Nuggets in Round 2 and the Indiana Pacers during the NBA Finals, gave this young roster much-needed experience that they can take with them into this postseason. From the physical, emotional, and mental toll a full playoff run takes on the team to the miscues that the Thunder must clean up in order to repeat. Most notably, their two blown Game 1s a year ago during those best-of-seven sets that went the distance.

During the 2025-26 season, the OKC Thunder have seen the vast majority of this roster improve from top to bottom.

Even superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who by all accounts had the perfect season last year –– A scoring title, NBA MVP, Western Conference Finals MVP, NBA Finals MVP, Supermax contract, NBA 2K cover and new signature shoe –– has improved.

Gilgeous-Alexander's ability to dissect a defense as a playmaker is night and day compared to where it was at the start of the 2025 NBA Playoff run. His live dribble passing is able to bend the overzealous defensive coverages he sees, opening up high-quality looks for his teammates. Shots that are at a premium in the postseason.

Chet Holmgren has taken a step forward as a play finisher alongside the added playmaking from Gilgeous-Alexander's game, Williams' punch and the reintroduction of Ajay Mitchell into the rotation this season. This has made Holmgren a strong candidate for the All-NBA third team this season after he captured his first All-Star during this campaign.

Isaiah Joe is on another level this season as a 3-point shooter, not only with eye-popping shooting splits, but the way he is moving around the arc to find passing windows to create shots for himself and helping the Thunder improve their half-court offense by his partnership with Isaiah Hartenstein on DHOs and finding triples for himself.

The list goes on, Cason Wallace is an even better defender hitting elite status while being more comfortable on the ball off the catch offensively. Jaylin Williams is an improved athlete who can hold up better on the defensive end while ending the regular season on a hot streak from distance.

Oklahoma City also has proven risers in the NBA Playoffs in veterans Lu Dort and Alex Caruso. While their 2025-26 regular season campaigns were nothing to write home about there is reason for optimism that in the postseason they will have a knack for hitting big shots as well as keeping the team's defensive identity suffocating for opposing matchups.

The Thunder also earned the perfect path back to the NBA Finals by earning the top seed in the NBA. Not only securing home court advantage in each series that they have played in but getting a draw that sees Oklahoma City playing Phoenix in the opening round, then the Los Angeles Lakers or Houston Rockets in Round 2 before facing the first team that can give the Bricktown Ballers any resistance in the Western Conference Finals.

Oklahoma City has proven to be the deepest most talented team in the NBA throughout the season. They should be able to buck the trend of parity area across the NBA with the last six NBA Champions failing to even make it out of the second round. The best of seven format almost always produces the better team winning, barring health, the Thunder are the better team.

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