The Oklahoma City Thunder just finished one of the most impressive seasons in NBA history. They posted a record of 68 – 14 in the regular season, the 6th best record ever achieved, and they also outscored their opponents by an average of 12.9 points, the largest average margin of victory ever recorded. In the playoffs, they swept the Grizzlies, beat three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, defeated the potential next face of the league in Anthony Edwards, and beat a red-hot Pacers team in the NBA Finals. Their leader, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, won the scoring title, MVP, and Finals MVP. Additionally, his co-stars, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, are only 24 and 23 years old, and the average age of the Thunder’s roster is 25.6 years old. So, the majority of the players on this team haven’t reached their prime yet, or they just reached it and still have many great years ahead of them. 

This year, defense was their calling card; every player who stepped on the floor contributed defensively, including Luguentz Dort, who made the All-Defensive First Team this year, and Alex Caruso, who made the All-Defensive Second Team last year. This led the Thunder to have a defensive rating of 106.6, which was the best in the NBA this season. This will be a huge part of the Thunder’s identity going forward because defense is something that you can be consistent at, unlike offense, where you might go through some droughts. And this year, every player on this team proved that they can help anchor down that side of the floor.

Furthermore, the Thunder have the assets to get any player in the NBA who becomes available with more draft picks than anyone else. They have 13 future first-round picks, including swaps, and 17 second-round picks. With these picks, they can either trade for a star or use the picks to draft players. However, they don’t have space for 30 new players on this team. So they will have to use at least some of these picks to trade for a player, or they can use these picks to trade up in certain drafts if there’s a prospect they’re eyeing. 

Another issue they might encounter is how much money it will cost to keep this team together. Next year, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will make approximately 38 million dollars, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams are only making 14 and 7 million dollars because they’re on their rookie contracts, but they expire after next year. So, in the 2026-27 season, both Chet and Jalen have rookie max extensions kicking, which can potentially be up to 250 million dollars over 5 years for Chet and 287 million dollars over 5 years for Jalen. So when these contracts kick in, it will be difficult for the Thunder to build a good rotation around them because of the new CBA and the second apron they’ll be approaching. Luckily for them, they still have key rotation players locked in until the end of the 2026-27 season, including Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso, Luguentz Dort, Isaiah Joe, and Cason Wallace. So they will be championship contenders until then if no injuries to key players occur.  

So, are the Thunder The Next NBA Dynasty?

I believe the Thunder are more than capable of winning another championship. I believe they will be the team to beat the next 2 years however, because of the financial crunch they’ll be in after the 2026-27 season, they will not be able to surround Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren with the key pieces to beat teams that are more talented and deeper than them in the playoffs. Or, if they want to keep their depth, either Jalen Williams or Chet Holmgren will have to be traded. 

On top of this, the Thunder have a lot of competition in the West, not only for next year, but for many years to come. They’ll have to contend with Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets, Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves, Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers, as well as potentially Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks in a few years.

I believe the Thunder certainly can win another championship in the next 2 years; however, after the 2026-27 season, it will be much more difficult for them to compete because they won’t have the same depth. They will still be championship contenders, but perhaps not the favourite. So, taking everything into account, the Thunder can become the next NBA dynasty, but it won’t be as easy as a lot of people think.

References for Stats and Contracts

1. NBA.com Staff. (n.d.). Teams defense statistics: NBA.com Stats. Retrieved September 12, 2025, from https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/defense?SeasonType=Regular%20Season&dir=A&sort=DEF_RATING NBA
2. NBA.com Staff. (2025, May 22). Year‑by‑year NBA All‑Defensive Teams. NBA.com. Retrieved September 12, 2025, from https://www.nba.com/news/history-all-defensive-team NBA
3. Quinn, S. (2025, July 10). Chet Holmgren just signed a huge extension, but he potentially did the Thunder a favor while doing so. CBS Sports. Retrieved September 12, 2025, from https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/chet-holmgren-just-signed-a-huge-extension-but-he-potentially-did-the-thunder-a-favor-while-doing-so/ CBSSports.com
4. Basketball Reference. (n.d.). Oklahoma City Thunder contracts. Retrieved September 12, 2025, from https://www.basketball-reference.com/contracts/OKC.html CBSSports.com+1
5. Sportsnet Staff. (n.d.). Report: Thunder, Jalen Williams agree to five‑year maximum rookie contract extension. Sportsnet. Retrieved September 12, 2025, from https://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/article/report-thunder-jalen-williams-agree-to-five-year-maximum-rookie-contract-extension/ CBSSports.com