The Oklahoma City Thunder is one of the best teams in NBA history, but one of the ESPN experts is not sure success is sustainable.
Designed by Sam Presty, the Oklahoma City Thunder is an NBA class and now has a championship that proves it.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren look like the young cores of the elite.
This goes without saying that the two first-round picks that we boast of on the 2025 NBA Draft or Nicola topics are lottery picks that didn’t make their NBA debut last year.
With the young roster all under contract, the Thunder is expected to be the next dynasty in the league, but one expert has urged fans to pump the brakes.
The NBA has not been repeatedly championed since the 2017 and 2018 Golden State Warriors. In fact, this is the first time since 2019 that the team (the Warriors) have played consecutive finals.
Of course, some dynasties like the San Antonio Spurs have never won consecutive titles, but there is only one ring to boast, and the Thunder is far from running the league in the long run.
“Are people not paying attention or were they not paying attention to the Boston Celtics?” asked Michael Wilbon. “Oh, they were last year’s dynasty. Ah, Tatum, Brown, we got so many people. We got Derrick White.
With catastrophic injuries appearing to occur every week, the second apron is always looming, the general chemical threat has always been a concern, and building a multi-year dynasty requires both the ultimate sacrifice and on-court humility to work, and lightning has yet to prove that it can overcome those obstacles.
“All teams snapped Achilles from one contract dispute, one locker room dispute, the other finishing fourth and exiting in the second round,” Wilbon continued. “We need to learn that by now.”
Wilbon easily admitted that among teams in the league, Thunder is the perfect one to become the next dynasty, but that doesn’t mean they have realistic shots.
Wilbon’s name signs contracts, injuries and locker room feuds as factors that could bring OKC back to Earth. The injury is unpredictable, but the Thunder is now deep enough to replace almost everyone when needed.
But by the end of next season, both Williams and Holmglen are scheduled to be extended, with $149.3 million already committed for the 2026-27 season, so both players will be less than their biggest.
Do both young stars agree to take less money? I can’t see that yet. Will Gilgeous-Alexander remain healthy next season? Hopefully, if he doesn’t, Thunder cannot really compete in crowded Western meetings.
Wilbon fits his point perfectly. The Celtics were promoted last season as the next dynasty, with the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets all receiving the same treatment.
None of these teams have returned to the finals since winning the ring. Thunder is younger than those teams, but building a multi-year candidate is more difficult than ever.