Copyright Athlon Sports
The Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t pop champagne bottles over their latest milestone. Why would they? They barely drank even after winning their first NBA championship. Nonetheless, the moment prompted their franchise player to brag a little. The Thunder already cemented a franchise-record 8-0 start less than two weeks into the 2025-26 regular season. So does this foreshadow that the Thunder also have their best team in franchise history? “We prioritize getting better every day,” Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said after Tuesday’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers at Intuit Dome. “We did that all last season. We did that throughout the whole playoff run. Because we did that, we have no choice but to be a better team.” OKC coach Mark Daigneault smiled as he processed hearing his star player share his positive scouting report publicly. Gilgeous-Alexander first shared it when OKC tied last season’s record for its best start in franchise history by winning its first seven games. Gilgeous-Alexander reiterated his analysis after the Thunder’s 126-107 win over the Clippers. But Daigneault also seemed aware of the turbulence ahead. On the second night of a back-to-back without four key rotation players (Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Lu Dort, Alex Caruso), the Thunder suffered a 121-119 loss at the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday after squandering a 22-point lead. “The fact that they believe that and he believes that and is setting a tone in that world, it’s a good thing,” Daigneault said Tuesday. “But we need to focus on how we get better from where we were from the beginning of training camp to now to two weeks from now.” That’s because the Thunder are wrestling with an issue that can either excite or intimidate a reigning NBA championship team: what do they need to do to produce a successful sequel? Should they maintain confidence that they can win another NBA championship because they have already shown they have enough talent and resiliency to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy? Or should they remain humble because opponents may deliver more effective punches than last season? Should they feel concerned about experiencing championship burnout as they pursue excellence through an 82-game season and potentially two months of high-stakes playoff basketball? Or should they feel worried about nursing a championship hangover as they manage potential complacency? Most of the NBA’s reigning championship teams have struggled to answer these questions correctly. In the league’s 76-year history, 55 teams failed to repeat as champions. Only six NBA franchises have hoisted a trophy in back-to-back seasons: the Boston Celtics (1959-66, 1968-69), Los Angeles/Minneapolis Lakers (2009-2010, 2000-02, 1987-88, 1953-54, 1949-50), Detroit Pistons, (1989-90), Chicago Bulls (1991-93, 1996-98), Miami Heat (2012-13) and Golden State Warriors (2017-18). The NBA hasn’t fielded a repeat championship in the past seven years. To maximize parity, the NBA has enforced stricter spending penalties that make it harder to keep championship teams intact. The Thunder, however, appear capable of snapping that streak. They also have their core players (Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, Holmgren) under contract through the 2028-29 season. “Every team has a chance,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Every team starts the year 0-0. They have 82 games, and they get a chance to win all 82. Now it doesn’t work like that more often than not. But we understand the opportunity in front of us. We try to attack it every day.” The Thunder try to attack it every day by showing they can overcome other pitfalls that often greet reigning championship teams. Every team’s title fortunes mostly depend on a durable roster. Wednesday’s loss to Portland notwithstanding, OKC has absorbed some notable injuries just fine. Williams, who made his first NBA All-Star appearance last season as the Thunder’s second-leading scorer, has stayed sidelined while healing from right wrist surgery. Holmgren has missed four games with a lower back strain. Second-year guard Nikola Topić has started chemotherapy to treat testicular cancer. But the Thunder won eight consecutive games by leaning on their reigning MVP (Gilgeous-Alexander), a proven frontcourt defender and passer (Isaiah Hartenstein) and a seemingly unlimited supply of two-way players (Dort, Caruso, Cason Wallace, Aaron Wiggins, Ajay Mitchell). Unlike other NBA-title teams that had veteran-laden rosters, the Thunder will likely stay healthy considering their youthful dynamic (average 25.6 years in age). “We haven’t seen one of our better players in the lineup yet,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of Williams. “But this team just does a good job of plugging away. It’s not a surprise.” The Thunder also don’t seem surprised that they haven’t resorted to the infighting that often disrupts championship rosters. Longtime Miami Heat executive Pat Riley, who coached the Lakers, New York Knicks and Heat in different eras, observed that a team’s championship window often shuts because of “the disease of me.” More success begets star players competing over shots and touches. More success prompts rotation players to expect bigger roles. Not the Thunder. Gilgeous-Alexander handles most of the team’s scoring (33.3 points per game, second in NBA). But the Thunder still have a balanced offense, thanks to Holmgren’s positional versatility (20.6 ppg), Isaiah Joe’s shooting (17.3 ppg) and Hartenstein’s pick-and-roll game (10.7 ppg). Mitchell (16.7 ppg) and Wiggins (14.8 ppg) have thrived as secondary scorers and embraced their fluid playing time. That dynamic has become possible partly because of Gilgeous-Alexander. He averages 6.3 assists per game and has refined his iso-centric scoring style. He encourages teammates to shoot through makes and misses. He respects Daigneault’s direct and candid feedback. “The biggest thing is Coach does a really good job of setting the tone,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of Daigneault. “The group is a certain way, obviously, and the characters in the room. But Coach does a really good job of holding every guy in the room, including myself, to the highest standard and not letting it slip, no matter what.” Yet Daigneault hardly acts like a militaristic coach that barks at his players on the sideline and in the film room. Daigneault gives candid feedback to his players collectively and privately in a matter-of-fact and encouraging tone. He detaches himself from the locker room to create a more relaxed environment. Daigneault refuses to take credit publicly for anything involving a player’s development. He maintains the same unassuming demeanor as when he coached the Thunder’s G League team (2014-19) and held assistant-coaching roles (2016, 2019-20). Daigneault has proven himself, however, as one of the NBA’s most respected head coaches for his innovative playbook and collaboration. “It’s just a joy to be around this team,” Daigneault said. “They’re as good of people as they are competitors. They’re as good workers as they are competitors, so they put a lot of pressure on you as a coach and us as a coaching staff to bring our best every day. They deserve the best. They deserve the best coaching we can give them. They deserve the best organization they can put around them. But they set a really high bar with how they approach everything both on and off the court.” That’s partly because the Thunder act like chameleons. They show their playful side with their team-wide celebratory postgame interviews. But they display their serious side with disciplined offseason workouts and practice regimens. They exude their skills by beating opponents with surgical precision. But they demonstrate their resilience by absorbing opponents’ increased physicality and desire to slow the game down. They thrive in small-ball lineups that primarily revolve around Gilgeous-Alexander’s balanced scoring and six players that shoot at least 35% from 3 (Gilgeous-Alexander, Caruso, Wallace, Holmgren, Wiggins, Joe). But they also excel in big lineups that involve Holmgren and Hartenstein as both rim protectors and pick-and-roll partners. They have dominated in four double-digit wins. But they have also prevailed in two double overtime wins and two single-digit games in regulation. “We like to be as unpredictable and as versatile as we can out there,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Some of that is just the front office and the personnel they put on this team. Some of it is the work ethic of the guys and transforming their games and making sure they can do multiple things on the basketball court. And then some of that is the coaches putting us in position.” That includes Daigneault, who conceded that the Thunder’s well-constructed roster “puts pressure on you every day to bring your best.” “It creates a contagiousness about everybody trying to bring their best,” he said. “But we have a lot of season left. There will be a lot of ups and downs and adversity that we have to endure.” The Thunder just faced their first challenge by losing their first game of the season. The Denver Nuggets may follow Portland’s lead after surrounding Nikola Jokić with a better supporting cast. Same thing with the Houston Rockets after acquiring Kevin Durant. With OKC mostly excelling with their star talent, depth and continuity, however, the Thunder feel equipped to protect their NBA title even through key injuries and an improved Western Conference landscape. “We had the whole playoff run,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “So naturally we’re just going to be a better team.”
