The 2024-25 NBA season is almost here, so OKC’s pursuit of besting the defending champion Boston Celtics is nearly upon us. The Green and White set the standard last season as the only team with 60 wins in the regular season. Then, they stormed through the Eastern Conference playoff bracket, showing their opponents who the beast of the East truly is.
On the other side, the Oklahoma City Thunder tried doing the same thing. But they couldn’t. Although they flexed their dominance in the regular season by rattling off 57 wins and securing the top spot in the Western Conference, the postseason party came to a screeching halt when they met the eventual West champion Dallas Mavericks in the semifinals.
While the postseason loss was a downer, much has changed since then — in favor of the Thunder. The Blue and Orange did some shuffling this summer, starting with their decision to say goodbye to Josh Giddey and hello to one-time NBA champion Alex Caruso. Then, they inked Isaiah Hartenstein to a massive deal. After these moves the Thunder are being pegged as the prohibitive favorites in the West, as are the Celtics in the East.