RealGM

That is, 6 seasons including this one.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are doing great and have been improving steadily for years now. First in the West (20-5) and about to play the Cup final.

Shai's fantastic and is only 26. J-Dub is 23. Chet's 22. They're all only getting better. Their defense is top notch. They have a deep and balanced team. I don't like Daigneault, but he seems pretty pretty good.

Presti has mastered directing a team. They have a gazilion picks until 2030 incoming, including at least 6 FRP until 2028!
https://basketball.realgm.com/nba/draft/future_drafts/detailed

They don't have bad money afaic, and they could get a discount with Chet's extension due to health. Presti has many options to keep improving. They're top contenders as is, and that should only solidify with every passing year with Boston likely to part with key cogs and Giannis and Joker aging out.

I know rules and randomness benefit the distribution of championships, but really, their foundation is tremendously solid and what other team could consistently compete? I think Boston's a favourite over OKC this year but the Thunder could well win half of the next 6 titles if Chet can play. Presti has done that good of a job and the team's responding and hungry.

What do you think?

0

jynx thread

bbms wrote:jynx thread

nah, it's fine. Don't be superstitious, they'll do great irregardless. I'm normally very cautious with such optimistic predictions but I think in this case the foundation is that solid and I don't see how the competition could keep up other than conference rival Boston.

Pump the brakes. Let them win one first.

If they don't win at least 7 it's a failure.

3 …… IST titles

We tend to overrate these things. We thought Shaq and Penny would win a bunch of titles, that Shaq and Kobe would win 5+ together, that Durant/Harden/Westbrook would win multiple together, that Lebron and Wade would win 5+ together, that the Bucks would repeat, that the Nuggets would repeat, ect.

Not one, not two, not three…

Reality is they are more likely to win zero than 1. Gotta stay healthy, get lucky, etc.

Fun Fact, I hope It's right LOL.

Can't remember who said, but didn't someone say SGA reminds them of Jordan?

Took Jordan 7 years to win first championship?
This Is SGA's 7th season, this could be the start of something?

MoneyTalks41890 wrote:Reality is they are more likely to win zero than 1. Gotta stay healthy, get lucky, etc.

Math is probably on your side (it sure ain't on mine), but how one would even calculate that? Incredibly promising team by the way, obviously.

NZB2323 wrote:We tend to overrate these things. We thought Shaq and Penny would win a bunch of titles, that Shaq and Kobe would win 5+ together, that Durant/Harden/Westbrook would win multiple together, that Lebron and Wade would win 5+ together, that the Bucks would repeat, that the Nuggets would repeat, ect.

there is only 6 years until 2030 and nobody said they will win 5 chips. they would be soooo happy with 2 or 3 I guess which is likely, but not guaranteed anyway.

1-2.

This core hasn’t been to a conference finals yet and it’s extremely hard to go from 2nd round exits to champions in 1 season with no experience (aside from Caruso).

Then you also need luck in terms of matchups, injuries etc. They’re in a fantastic situation though so should at least get 1. Whether they can get a 2nd or 3rd is the big questions IMO.

I think they should win at least one, health permitting. The issue will be when it comes to needing to pay their young guys with the second apron rule - can they have SGA, Chet and J-Dub all on max contracts and retain talent like Hartenstein and Caruso alongside them? And then guys like Dort, Wallace etc will also be up for bigger extensions in a couple of years.

None. Celtics got the next 5 or 6 in a row

Selected 0 or 1. Mostly because there are so many things that can happen and go wrong with players, other teams becoming contenders etc., just look at the league in 20-21 and besides Boston people would have probably said that Milwaukee, Philly, Boston, Utah, Denver and the Clippers will be the contenders for the next few years.

OKC has never won a title, but going back to Durant's first years, then the Paul George years, and now with Shai were most seasons viewed as current or future contenders. Right now things are looking really good from their roster, but they didn't win a title with 3 future MVPs on their roster. Ibaka was 2nd in DPOY voting and looked like he could turn into one of the best defenders of all time, based on his athleticism.

Until now it looks like they learned from past mistakes, but there are still a lot of factors and also a certain amount of luck involved. Boston has done pretty much everything right the last 10 seasons and made it at least to the Conference FInals 6 times since 2017, in the end they still won only 1 title in that period.

DudetheObscure wrote:Pump the brakes. Let them win one first.

What's wrong with having a bit of fun and speculating?

If you're wrong, then you're wrong. Who cares?

Holmgren is the limiting factor. They will never be a dynasty when Holmgren makes Porzingis look like a guy who plays 82 games.

NZB2323 wrote:We tend to overrate these things. We thought Shaq and Penny would win a bunch of titles, that Shaq and Kobe would win 5+ together, that Durant/Harden/Westbrook would win multiple together, that Lebron and Wade would win 5+ together, that the Bucks would repeat, that the Nuggets would repeat, ect.

The criteria is very simple: if healthy and the team stays intact.

None of those teams stayed intact. Predictions can be accurate if the correct metrics are looked at. Shaq/Kobe and Wade/Lebron could of easily gotten 5+ if they stayed together.

This Thunder squad is as good as those teams.

1. A historic defense only comparable to Bill Russell's Celtics.

2. A historic net rating (12) only comparable to the 72-10 Bulls (12.3).

3. They are the youngest team in the league. Half of the guys aren't even in their primes yet. If they are as dominant as Jordan's Bulls this year, how much better are they going to be in their primes?

Voting 0 is just being lazy. I understand the wait and see approach, but this is a speculative thread. We're not dealing with matter of fact issues.

I've been watching basketball for close to 30 years and this is the best team I have ever seen. The only other team just as good is Jordan's Bulls; ok maybe Lebron's Heat, but even then, those teams didn't play with the same intensity.

This team is going to win at least 1. SGA still has 10 years of prime basketball, so I'm going to say 6+, which isn't even an option.

P.S. I've watched every game and I'm fully confident in that statement. Watch the games guys (not highlights). This team is special.

AussieCeltic wrote:1-2.

This core hasn’t been to a conference finals yet and it’s extremely hard to go from 2nd round exits to champions in 1 season with no experience (aside from Caruso).

Then you also need luck in terms of matchups, injuries etc. They’re in a fantastic situation though so should at least get 1. Whether they can get a 2nd or 3rd is the big questions IMO.

i picked 1-2 as well, since they do seem to be doing a lot of the right moves, but obviously in the real world, a lot of success will hinge on luck, be it injuries or development of players or how actual games go when two teams match up. nobody should ever pick a team ahead of the field before the year starts, the math will never work out. nothing is ever guaranteed, but if you're a thunder fan, you have to be hopeful