NBA Playoffs: Why Thunder Have The Right Ingredients To Repeat

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - JUNE 22: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrates with the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player trophy after defeating the Indiana Pacers 103-91 in Game Seven of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center on June 22, 2025 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

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Nearly 10 months after experiencing elation over winning their first NBA championship, developing their young core and staying reasonably healthy, the Oklahoma City Thunder face an even greater test.

Can the Thunder replicate that success?

“Repeating and doing something again is always a little bit harder and a little bit more challenging,” Thunder star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “The league gets better. Players get better.”

OKC has gotten better, too. The No. 1 Thunder (64-18) enter their first-round playoff series against the eighth-seeded Phoenix Suns (45-37) on Sunday as the favorites to win an NBA championship. Amid increased parity, player movement and spending restrictions, the NBA hasn’t overseen a repeat champion since 2019. But OKC will likely snap that streak.

The Thunder secured the Western Conference’s top seed for the third consecutive season. Only the Boston Celtics (1984-88), Los Angeles Lakers (1984-90, 2008-10), Chicago Bulls (1996-98) and Golden State Warriors (2015-17) have accomplished that feat while defending their respective NBA titles during parts of those stretches.

Defending NBA title teams often nurse a championship hangover through the following season. The Thunder? They barely chugged champagne after their title run. Perhaps that’s why they haven’t shown significant signs of grogginess. Instead, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault has overseen a team that has treated the 2025-26 season as “blank canvas that we’ve had to paint on” to ensure enduring consistency.

“When you win the championship, that kind of hangs over you as a team the next year,” Daigneault said. “Everybody, including ourselves, judge yourself against that. It’s incredibly hard to be present in the next regular season. But I learned so much from this team because of their ability to come in every day, embrace the day and the challenge that we had that day and not look backwards and look forwards. They attack every challenge together with a level of zest and joy.”

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - MAY 28: Aaron Wiggins #21 and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder react on the bench against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the fourth quarter in Game Five of the Western Conference Finals of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center on May 28, 2025 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

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How the Thunder have avoided a championship hangover

It might seem easy for the Thunder to have a joyful mood given their circumstances.

Gilgeous-Alexander will likely win his second consecutive regular-season MVP while remaining one of the league’s most dangerous and versatile scorers. Thunder center Chet Holmgren made his first All-Star appearance as one of the league’s top two-way players. The Thunder dominate in nearly every statistical category.

OKC rank fifth in points per game (119) and fourth in field-goal percentage (48.4%). It fares even higher in various defensive metrics. The Thunder lead the NBA in defensive ratting (106.5), defensive field-goal percentage (43.7%), deflections per game (20.7) and points off turnovers per game (22.0).

“Our experiences have naturally done that for us,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We understand how to win and the formula for winning. We understand that doing that every night is the key to success.”

Yet, the Thunder experienced a relatively smooth ride while still navigating some potentially turbulent roads.

OKC managed overlapping injuries throughout the 2025-26 season to Jalen Williams (49 games), Isaiah Hartenstein (34), Gilgeous-Alexander (34), Alex Caruso (25), Ajay Mitchell (24) and Lu Dort (14). Just like all past NBA champions do, the Thunder absorbed their opponent’s best effort even during the regular-season dog days.

The Thunder still avoided a three-game losing streak throughout the season. They only experienced five two-game losing streaks. One of those stretches happened at the end of the season when OCK already secured the No. 1 seed and rested players ahead of the playoffs.

“I wouldn’t even say it’s a bad thing,” Holmgren said. “Obviously, you don’t want anybody to be injured. But I think those hurdles and being presented with those, it’s great for everybody to learn and play through those things.”

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - JUNE 22: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrates with the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player trophy with his new one-of-one pair of Converse signature basketball shoe, the SHAI 001 in "Trophy Gold" after defeating the Indiana Pacers 103-91 in Game Seven of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center on June 22, 2025 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

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Are the Thunder better than last season?

OKC has planned to play through a lot of things.

Gilgeous-Alexander maintained that he “is a world of a better player” than even last season. His scoring averages slightly dipped from last season (32.7) to this season (31.1). But he has shot more efficiently this season from the field (55.3%) and from deep (38.6%) compared to last season (51.9. 37.5%). He also elevated his game to account for Williams’ initial absence.

The Thunder didn’t drop defensively because they have several reinforcements on the wings. Dort is considered OKC’s most physical defender with how he both sets and fights through screens. Caruso enhances the Thunder with hustle plays and vocal leadership. Cason Wallace provides quickness with both his hands and feet.

Both Holmgren and Hartenstein offer positional versatility both as post-up bigs and stretch fives. That has enabled the Thunder to feature them together. But because of the overlapping injuries, the Thunder have also leaned on small-ball lineups. OKC have started Gilgeous-Alexander, Wallace, Dort, Hartenstein and Holmgren in 15 different games. But the Thunder have also used 30 different starting lineups.

“We got elite defensive talent. It would be foolish not to start there. But we got great intangibles on that end of the floor, too,” Daigneault said. “The thing that I marvel at with this team is in order to be a good player an impactful player and have an impactful team, there are a lot of invisible things that don’t give you a lot of attention in the game that you have to do in order to be impactful on the defensive end.”

The Thunder pay attention to such qualities, though. Some examples include their consistent rotations, communication and boxing out in hopes to make their job easier for themselves and for each other. Not every NBA defending champion have those qualities. Some fall into the “Disease of Me,” the phrase former Lakers coach Pat Riley once likened when team success can breed enhanced individual expectations. Some also become labor through burnout and fatigue.

Not this Thunder team. Caruso, 32, is the team’s only rotation player more than 30 years old. The rest of the team remain in their development and prime years. Despite OKC nursing various injuries throughout the season, none of them are considered potentially concerning entering the playoffs.

“There’s no Instagram reels for that. but our guys are deeply committed to that because they’re deeply committed to each other and they’re deeply committed to trying to win,” Daigneault said. “That, combined with the talent, is why we’re the defense we are. We certainly have to sharpen that and bring that into the playoffs.”

That’s because the Thunder will face stiffer competition then. The San Antonio Spurs believe they’re ready to make a deep playoff push partly after winning four out of five regular-season games. The Denver Nuggets still have Nikola Jokić averaging a triple double. Nonetheless, the Thunder are expected to survive against either team in a presumed Western Conference Finals matchup. They’re not expected to be as tested if they advance to the NBA Finals.

The Thunder aren’t thinking that way, though. Hence, they had a muted reaction when they secured the No. 1 seed. They care more about reaching a milestone in June.

“None of it means anything if you don’t win in the end,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We know that. But the teams that win in the end have the same characteristics we have to earn what we get in making the playoffs and our seeding.”

This article was originally published on Forbes.com