The Oklahoma City Thunder are not just winning. They are steamrolling the league. At 23-1 with a .958 winning percentage, they sit alone at the top of the West and the entire NBA.
They score 123.0 points per game, have a 120.0 offensive rating, a league-best 104.1 defensive rating, and an absurd 16.2 net rating, all while shooting 49.7% from the field and 37.4% from three. That is a top-five offense and the clear-cut No. 1 defense in the league at the same time.
At this pace, the Thunder are flirting with something insane. A 23-1 start projects to roughly 78 wins over an 82-game season. Even the 73-9 Golden State Warriors felt untouchable, and yet this team is on a trajectory that has 2K simulations putting their best-case scenario at 77 wins, as they’ve got a real shot to reach or pass 73.
You do not land in that territory by accident. You get there because everything is clicking at once. Here are five reasons why, right now, it feels like nobody can beat the Thunder in a seven-game series.
1. History-Level Dominance
When a team starts 20-1, the league pays attention. When that team pushes it to 23-1 with a 16.2 net rating, now we are in “call the record books” territory.
The Thunder outscore opponents by 16.0 points per 100 possessions. That is not just first in the NBA. It is the kind of number you usually only see for a month-long hot streak, not a quarter of a season.
They put up 123.0 points per game, fifth in offensive rating at 120.0, while simultaneously locking teams down with a 104.1 defensive rating that sits alone at the top of the league. You are not supposed to be this good on both ends at once.
Usually, you are either the nuclear offense that survives on firepower or the grindhouse defense that wins 104-98 rock fights. This group does both.
The comparison is obvious. The Warriors went 73-9 in 2015-16 and felt like a glitch in the system. A decade later, the Thunder are in that same “this should not be possible” zone.
After a 23-1 start, they only need to go 50-8 the rest of the way to tie 73 wins, 51-7 to break it. That is mind-blowing when you remember how young this roster is and the fact that they have not even been fully healthy all year.
This is not a vet team coasting through the regular season. This is a defending champion that treats every random Tuesday like a playoff game. You watch them for five minutes, and the energy smacks you in the face. Players dive on the floor, rotate like maniacs, and push in transition every chance they get.
So when people say “they are on a 73-win pace,” for once it does not sound like media hype. It sounds like a very real problem for the rest of the league.
2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Is Playing Like The Best Guard On The Planet
You can talk all you want about system, depth, and culture. At the end of the day, you do not touch 70 wins without that guy. The Thunder have him.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 32.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game, shooting 55.6% from the field, 44.3% from three, and 88.1% from the line. Those are video-game numbers.
He is living in that 30+ points per night zone while still being efficient as a big man and running the offense like a true floor general.
This is not some random spike either. Last season, he averaged 32.7 points, 6.4 assists, and 5.0 rebounds, won MVP, Finals MVP, and a championship. Now he has come back better.
The way Shai controls a game is ridiculous. He gets to his spots whenever he wants. He lives in that midrange pocket, walks defenders into step-backs, and punishes drop coverage with pull-ups and floaters. When teams send two defenders, he just calmly hits the open guy and trusts the machine behind him.
Look at the recent results. He is dropping lines like 38 points on 13-of-21 shooting with 5-of-6 from three against the Warriors, or 33 points on 10-of-12 from the field against the Mavericks, and doing it all within the flow of the offense.
He does not force. He does not hunt stats. He just kills.
And the wildest part: the Thunder actually blow so many teams out that Shai is not even grinding crazy minutes. He plays around 33.3 per game, well below the heavy loads other superstars are carrying. That means he is fresher late in games and fresher late in the season.
If you are trying to imagine how anybody beats this team four times, you have to build a story where Shai is contained. Right now, that story basically does not exist.
3. Chet Holmgren And A Defense That Erases Everything
If Shai is the superstar engine, Chet Holmgren is the cheat code that makes all the numbers ridiculous.
Holmgren is averaging 18.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, shooting 57.5% from the field and 36.4% from three. He scores efficiently at all three levels, runs the floor, spaces to the corners and top of the arc, and can grab-and-go like a guard.
But the real horror show is on defense.
The team’s No.1 defensive rating is no accident. Holmgren is blocking 1.5 shots per game, changing a ton more, and essentially turning the paint into a danger zone. Guards think they have a clean lane, then suddenly there is a 7’1” unicorn with absurd length wiping the attempt away or forcing a kick-out late in the clock.
This comes on top of what he already did last year, when he averaged 15.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks and walked away with his first ring. The leap from “elite sophomore” to “full-on star” is already happening.
The beauty of the Thunder defense is how well the pieces fit around Holmgren.
Cason Wallace is a menace at the point of attack, averaging 2.3 steals per game and absolutely hounding ball-handlers. Lu Dort still bullies wings on the perimeter with a steal per game. Isaiah Hartenstein eats the glass with 10.7 rebounds per game and allows them to survive whenever Holmgren sits. Alex Caruso does Alex Caruso things: 1.6 steals, rotations, strips, charges, annoying every star he sees.
They funnel everything into length and discipline. Help comes on time. Closeouts are sharp. And if a team finally beats first and second efforts, Holmgren is usually waiting at the rim to clean it up.
It is one thing to have a good defense. It is another to have the No. 1 defense in the league while playing at a high offensive pace and scoring 123.0 a night. That combination is why the Thunder feel unfair.
4. Shooting And Playmaking Everywhere You Look
The Thunder do not win because one or two guys go crazy every night. They win because there is nowhere for a defense to hide.
As a team, they shoot 49.7% from the field and 37.4% from three, good for top-3 in efficiency. Shai is at 44.3% from deep. Aaron Wiggins hits 43.4% from outside while averaging 13.8 points per game. Isaiah Joe bombs away at 41.9% from three with 12.9 points per night. Holmgren lives at 36.4% from downtown.
You cannot load up on the ball and expect the wings to brick. They will not.
The passing is just as impressive, even as the 12th-highest mark in the league. The Thunder average 26.5 assists per game, with Shai at 6.4, Jalen Williams at 6.4, Isaiah Hartenstein at 3.4, Ajay Mitchell at 3.6, and Wallace/Caruso at 2.5 each. They share it. They trust it.
That is how you end up with nine players averaging at least 8.0 points per game:
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 32.8
- Chet Holmgren: 18.6
- Jalen Williams: 17.8
- Ajay Mitchell: 14.4
- Aaron Wiggins: 13.8
- Isaiah Joe: 12.9
- Isaiah Hartenstein: 12.2
- Cason Wallace: 8.4
- Luguentz Dort: 8.0
You are not dealing with a heliocentric team where everything collapses if the star has an off night. You are dealing with a machine that can beat you from every angle.
If you trap Shai, he will hit Holmgren and Hartenstein short-rolling, or Jalen Williams on an empty-side cut. If you stay home on shooters, Shai walks into the paint. If you switch, Holmgren slips to the rim, or Joe and Wiggins sprint off a flare screen.
This is where the “no one can beat them” feeling really kicks in. You can build the perfect game plan and still lose by 15 because almost every role player could pop for 20 on elite efficiency.
5. Unmatched Depth And A Championship-Level Culture
We love to talk about stars, but what really separates the Thunder is how hard everybody plays, every night, no matter what.
Look at the rotation. Beyond Shai and Holmgren, you have Jalen Williams as a 17.8-point-per-game connector who can handle, pass, and defend as an All-Star.
Ajay Mitchell emerged out of nowhere as the new big-minutes bench piece, and scores 14.4 points per game on 46.4% shooting, adds 3.6 assists and 1.5 steals, and has zero fear in big moments after a quiet 2024-25 season.
Joe, Wiggins, and Caruso give them three completely different but equally valuable guards. Dort and Kenrich Williams bring toughness and size on the wings. Hartenstein controls the boards. Even the deep bench guys, like Jaylin Williams and Ousmane Dieng, know exactly what to do when their number is called.
This is how you end up with blowouts every other night. The starters crush. The bench walks in and keeps the lead at 20. There are no “chill” shifts. There are no minutes where you feel like the Thunder are experimenting or sleepwalking.
And remember the context. This team already has a ring. Shai and Holmgren have been through a championship run together. They are not learning how to win. They are now learning how to dominate.
The culture is obvious in small things. How often do you see them give up on plays? Almost never. How often do you see frustrated body language if someone misses a shot? Rarely. Everybody buys into the idea that it can be someone different every night.
That is exactly the sort of environment that produces 23-1 type records. And it is exactly the sort of environment that makes it almost impossible to crack in a long series. Even if you steal a game, you are spending 48 minutes fighting through waves of energy, length, skill, and confidence.
When you stack it all together, it is not hard to see why the Thunder feel basically unbeatable right now.
They have the best record, the best net rating, a top-five offense, and the best defense in the league. They have an MVP in his absolute prime in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. They have a young superstar big in Chet Holmgren, anchoring an elite defense. They have shooting and playmaking all over the floor, and a bench that would start on half the teams in the league.
Could injuries, fatigue, or variance derail the 73-win chase? Sure. That is always on the table. But if the question is “who can beat them four times in seven tries, with everyone healthy,” the honest answer right now is simple.
No one.
