The playoffs have arrived, and so have the reactions, predictions, and overreactions. Right in the middle of it all are the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Last season, OKC caught the league off guard by surging to the top of the Western Conference and making it to the second round. This year, they doubled down on that leap, finishing with a league-best 68–14 record and again locking up the No. 1 seed in the West.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been the life of the party all season, and Jalen Williams has elevated himself to an All-Star role. Around them are defensive guys like Chet Holmgren, Alex Caruso, Lu Dort, and Isaiah Hartenstein. That’s a problem. Now we just see if it translates to the playoffs.
At the end of the day, regular-season wins won’t mean much if they can’t back it up in the playoffs. And right now, some still aren’t buying what OKC is selling. Former Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas even went as far as saying they have a 0% chance of making the NBA Finals.
“To reach the Finals, I give them 0%” Arenas said. “With them, they’re all helping for the success. They’re all going into free agency. If this was a big city, they would figure it out. But the fact that they are in OKC and it’s a smaller market team, you gonna have to pay Shai the bank this summer.”
Gil gives OKC a 0% chance of making the finals this year 🫣 pic.twitter.com/stvN9ORRru
— Gil’s Arena (@GilsArenaShow) April 16, 2025
