The Oklahoma City Thunder have become a powerhouse and arguably the best team in the NBA. They are currently 56-12 and sit at the top of the Western Conference by a wide margin.
The 2nd seed Houston Rockets trail the Thunder by 12.5 games. This just shows how dominant Oklahoma City has been this season.
Oklahoma City’s success can be traced back to a single trade. It was on the night of July 5, 2019 when Adrian Wojnarowski reported the news of a trade that would shake the foundation of the two franchises.
The Thunder would send All-Star forward Paul George to the LA Clippers for rookie guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari and five future Clipper first-round draft picks. The Clippers were making a win-now move and went all in on acquiring George, sending all their draft capital to Oklahoma City. Thunder general manager Sam Presti made it a mission to stock up on draft picks.
In Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City gained a promising young guard who would develop into the face of the franchise. The former Kentucky Wildcat steadily improved each year.
In the 2022-23 season, Gilgeous-Alexander made an explosive leap, as he averaged 31.4 points, 5.5 assists and 4.8 rebounds. He finished 5th in MVP voting and made the All-NBA First Team. While the Thunder missed the playoffs, this was a sign of things to come for the young star and his team.
While the Clippers failed to make any significant progress in their quest for a championship, the Thunder benefited. In 2022, the Thunder drafted Jalen Williams 12th overall with the Clippers’ pick. Williams would later go on to become an All-Star for the first time in 2025.
While the trade happened over five years ago, it is still in effect today. The Thunder still own the Clippers’ 2025 and 2026 first-round draft picks.
Through the draft, the Thunder have been able to build their roster from the ground up. Oklahoma City gained key players such as Chet Holmgren, Josh Giddey, Aaron Wiggins and Cason Walace with their own picks or through draft-day trades.
In 2024, the Thunder drafted Nikola Topic with the 12th pick. Topic was a projected top-ten pick, but slid in the draft due to a torn ACL. While he has not suited up for the Thunder, he may play a pivotal role in Oklahoma City’s future.
During that same offseason, the Thunder traded Giddey to the Chicago Bulls for defensive stopper and 2020 NBA champion Alex Caruso. They also signed backup center Isaiah Hartenstein. With these moves, Oklahoma City showed that they are no longer a team on the rise, but rather a team that has already risen and is ready to compete for a championship.
Oklahoma City’s patience in the long game prevailed as they are now the team to beat in the Western Conference.
The Thunder are looking to avenge a second round exit to the Dallas Mavericks in last years’ playoffs.
Just six years ago, Oklahoma City hit the reset button on the Russell Westbrook era and went into rebuild mode. The script has flipped completely now, as they are looking to win it all.
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