Today, the Oklahoma City Thunder begins their quest to defend their title. With the spotlight on them, expectations have risen as they are now the hunted, not the hunters.
As Shai Gilgeous-Alexander himself said, the expectation and focus is to win the 2026 NBA Championship. Adam Silver has created a “parity era” during his tenure as commissioner, resulting in the last eight NBA titles being won by different teams. With the super team Golden State Warriors being the last team to win back-to-back titles. The main question: Will the Thunder defy the odds and be the next team to repeat?
With the 2025-2026 NBA campaign, set to launch today, the Thunder have multiple factors they will have to overcome if they want to bring their second franchise title.
OKC Thunder Looking To Repeat in 2025-26
Injuries
Injuries are unpredictable and not completely unavoidable, as the Thunder will have to limit their severity and ensure they are ready to adopt a next-man-up mentality if they do occur.
Injuries has derailed previous champions hopes of repeating: the previous champion the 2023-2024 Boston Celtics, when Jason Tatum ruptured his Achilles during the playoffs, the 2022-2023 Denver Nuggets, with Jamal Murray dealing with a multitude of injuries during the playoffs, the 2021-2022 Milwaukee Bucks, when Giannis Antetokounmpo, went out with a knee injury during the playoffs, and the 2020-2021 Los Angeles Lakers, with LeBron James dealing with a high ankle sprain and Anthony Davis suffering a groin injury which are all cases that derailed their chances to repeating.
OKC themselves are no strangers to this, as last year, they dealt with a multitude of injures: with Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Alex Caruso missing a lot of time. The silver lining: the Thunder used their depth and strength in numbers, which showed as the season progressed. The Thunder will have to utilize their depth once again, as Jalen Williams will miss the start of the season recovering from wrist surgery, Kenrich Williams and Nikola Topic will also miss the beginning of the season due to recovering from procedures, and rookie Thomas Sorber is out for the year with a torn ACL.
Stagnation
Since the new era of Thunder basketball began after the bubble, they’ve have made gradual improvements every year.
Now, teams have made changes and improvements to their rosters to dethrone the Thunder.
The Denver Nuggets have made improvements around the margins and have addressed their most significant deficiencies, becoming noticeably deeper.
The Houston Rockets went all-in by adding a go-to scorer in Kevin Durant, after finishing second in the West during the regular season, but their weaknesses were exposed, as they lost in the first round of the playoffs.
The Dallas Mavericks have secured a blue-chip talent in Cooper Flagg, to go along with Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving, while boasting arguably the most depth in the NBA.
The Los Angeles Clippers adding more depth around James Harden and Kawhi Leonard to make them one of the most complete teams in the NBA.
After reaching the mountain top, the Thunder cannot afford to be complacent, as General Manager Sam Presti has emphasized the importance of “chasing improvement” and maintaining discipline, humility, and a detached attitude towards the success of last season. If the Thunder wants to sustain its success, it requires continuous evolution and improvement as it faces a new set of challenges.
Being the Hunted
Last year, the Thunder took the league by storm as the hunters, putting together a historical season, en route to capturing the championship. Now, the Thunder faces a new challenge of being the hunted, as every team goal is to take down the Thunder.
All the contending teams have constructed their roster to take down the Thunder specifically. Winning their first championship in franchise history last year was a blessing and a wondrous feeling for the city of Oklahoma City. Still, now the Thunder will experience the pressure of everyone wanting to be their curse and take that feeling away
Main Image: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
