The NBA has crowned seven different champions since Toronto ascended the throne in 2019 and Oklahoma City, with no veteran additions, hopes to break the trend by repeating this season. The Thunder has the tools to make it two titles in a row but if the road was rough against Indiana in the last Finals that went the distance, the obstacles will be even harder to hurdle in the league’s 80th year.
Lindy’s Pro Basketball 2025-26 has picked OKC to do it again with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tipped to claim a second straight MVP award. It chose OKC’s Mark Daigneault as Coach of the Year, Dallas’ Cooper Flagg as Rookie of the Year and Thunder enforcer Lu Dort as Defensive Player of the Year. Clearly, OKC made quite an impression on Lindy’s last season and why not? Despite an average age of just a little over 25, the Thunder became the first team in NBA history to lead the league in most turnovers forced (17 a game) and least turnovers committed (11.7). Additionally, OKC was No. 1 in steals. That’s a testament to Daigneault’s ability to get the troops to buy into his system where defense is a priority.
While Dort is OKC’s main defender, Alex Caruso contributes more than his share of stops. In last season’s playoffs, the 6-5 Caruso did his part defending anyone Daigneault put in front of him from Ja Morant to Nikola Jokic. ‘Caruso used his guile plus his sneaky athleticism to slow down some of the league’s biggest stars,’ wrote David Friedman in Lindy’s. ‘It was remarkable to see him frustrate Jokic in the post, looking like Jokic’s pesky younger brother in a backyard game but having an impact in a tightly-contested seven-game playoff series.’
OKC topped the league with a 68-14 record in the last regular season and in the playoffs, downed Memphis, 4-0, Denver, 4-3, Minnesota, 4-1 and Indiana, 4-3. There were anxious moments in the Denver and Indiana duels but somehow, the Thunder held on in the clutch to pull through. It’s the grit, maturity and poise that eventually got OKC to the pedestal. And the Thunder is shooting to become the first back-to-back champion since Golden State in 2017-18.
The NBA opens the new season tonight (tomorrow morning, Manila time) with OKC hosting Houston and Golden State battling the LA Lakers at the Crypto.com Arena. In the preseason, OKC posted a 4-2 record but SGA, Chet Holmgren, Dort, Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein sat out the losses to Dallas and Indiana. The five stalwarts were in harness to lead OKC to a 94-91 win over Denver in the Thunder’s last preseason engagement last Saturday.