The Oklahoma City Thunder have been by far the best defensive team in the NBA in this 2025-26 season. The Thunder’s defensive rating of 102.8 is the best in the league, with the Dallas Mavericks being a distant second at 110.3. What’s the secret to the defending champions’ success? Well, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s response when asked to name the Thunder’s best defender shows just why they’re so good.
“It’s the hardest question ever, of all time,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I don’t know. It depends on what you need.”
When asked to break it down, Gilgeous-Alexander did so brilliantly by bringing up Lu Dort, Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, and Isaiah Hartenstein.
“If you need someone to completely take somebody out of the basketball game, Lu Dort,” Gilgeous-Alexander stated. “If you need someone to roam around and disrupt the offense, Alex Caruso. If you need someone to just get his hands on every ball, you need a bunch of turnovers, Caso. If you’re a smaller team and you need someone to guard a bigger guy, Dub.
“Now, if you are a smaller team and have zero rim protection, Chet Holmgren,” Gilgeous-Alexander continued. “And then Hart too, in terms of rim protection, communication out there, and just disrupting things around the rim.”
It’s not often that you see a team with this many good-to-great defenders. Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t even mention himself there, and he’s no slouch on the defensive end either.
Dort is probably the pick of the bunch, and he finally got some much-deserved recognition when he was named to the All-Defensive First Team in 2025. Luka Doncic named the Canadian as one of the three best perimeter defenders in the NBA in 2024, and he has only gotten better since.
Joining Dort as an All-Defensive selection last season was Williams, who was named to the Second Team. He hasn’t even played a single minute this season, as he recovers from offseason wrist surgery. The fact that the Thunder are still this good on defense without Williams should scare the rest of the NBA.
A big reason why Williams’ absence hasn’t been felt on the defensive end is that Wallace has stepped up ever so well. Gilgeous-Alexander mentioned he is the one who can force a lot of turnovers, and he has done just that this season.
Wallace leads the NBA with an average of 2.4 steals per game. The Thunder having a player like him come off the bench when they’re fully healthy is just absurd.
Wallace wouldn’t be the only great defender part of that bench unit, as Caruso is there as well. The undrafted guard made the All-Defensive First Team in 2023 and then the Second Team in 2024. Caruso is one of the best in the business, and acquiring him from the Chicago Bulls in 2024 has proven to be a masterstroke.
We next get to the frontcourt, where we start off with Holmgren. The former No. 2 overall pick is averaging 18.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.7 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game in 2025-26. Holmgren’s shot-blocking numbers are down from the last two seasons, but he remains an excellent rim protector.
Lastly, we get to Hartenstein, who is averaging 12.1 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game. He isn’t quite as heralded as his teammates, but has once again been an anchor on the defensive end.
Thanks to all these defenders, the Thunder might just be the only team in the NBA that can consistently win games with their defense. There tend to be stretches during games where they just completely shut down the opposition, and that’s a big reason why they are off to a ridiculous 17-1 start to this season.
The Thunder finished 68-14 last season, and there’s a chance they improve on that record this time around.
