The Thunder are coming off one of the greatest team seasons in NBA history, capping it off by winning their first-ever championship. In the offseason, they made a conservative effort in extending their big three to long-term contracts, and now Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams are all locked in for the next five to six years.
With the Thunder not going away anytime soon, teams in the West have made moves this offseason to compete with them. Ultimately, with free agency all but over, have teams in the West done enough to try and dethrone the Thunder next season? Let’s dive into four teams that the Thunder should look out for and who they should fear the most in the West heading into next season.
Who Should the Thunder Fear the Most in the West?
4. Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are always going to be a threat as long as they have Luka Doncic. In addition, Doncic is making a concerted effort this offseason to improve his physical condition, and we could see a version of him we haven’t seen in a while. Additionally, despite LeBron James‘ upcoming 41st birthday next season, he hasn’t shown any significant signs of slowing down and remains a great number two option alongside Luka. Finally, this offseason, the Lakers are adding a center in DeAndre Ayton to fill one of their major weaknesses from last season. Another season under head coach JJ Reddick, and this Lakers team can be a serious threat to OKC next season.
However, there are a couple of reasons they aren’t higher. First, their top two players don’t play any defense, and they might not have enough defenders around them to make up for that. And although Ayton is a good addition, he isn’t exactly the rim protector or rim-runner that they were looking for. However, the Lakers should be a very good offensive team and should be able to put up a ton of points against any opponent. Also, Luka is the only one to defeat an SGA-led team in the playoffs.
3. Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers in the Kawhi Leonard era have always been a decent playoff team. However, they haven’t made a huge noise in the postseason and have only reached the Conference Finals once. Last year, they were the fourth seed in the West but got knocked out in the first round. The Clippers know their time to compete is running out and have completely gone all-in this offseason. They have probably made the most moves in the West to try and compete with the Thunder. They added Bradley Beal, Chris Paul, Brook Lopez, and John Collins. This means they will have great veterans in Paul and Lopez coming off the bench.
However, even with these moves, there are a lot of question marks for them heading into next season. The first one is, can they find a way to make all these players fit in and play well with each other? This is going to be a huge task for Ty Lue to figure out. The second is, is this team just too old to compete against a young team like the Thunder? How much does experience play in now that the Thunder have climbed that mountain of winning a championship? If Ty Lue can get past these questions and they can stay healthy, they could be a serious conference threat to the Thunder next season.
2. Houston Rockets
The runner-up on the list is the Houston Rockets. The Rockets have essentially built their team in the same fashion as the Thunder and have resembled their team in the same way. The Rockets, just like OKC, have a defensive-first mindset, and they were just the second seed in the West. Furthermore, the Rockets getting another year of development from their young core and the addition of Kevin Durant can make them a huge force on both ends of the court.
The Thunder have a great offense and an even better defense. The way you want to beat the Thunder is by matching them on both sides of the ball, including their physicality. This is something the Rockets can do with the addition of Durant, building on the problems they gave SGA and the Thunder last year. The Rockets have a nice blend of youth and veterans, just like the Thunder, and they could very well be the next Thunder team and win the Finals next season.
1. Denver Nuggets
However, the no-brainer biggest threat to the Thunder in the West is the Denver Nuggets. There are a multitude of reasons why but it comes down to three basic ones. First, they were the only team in the West to give the Thunder true fits as they forced a Game 7. Next. they have arguably the best player in the world in Nikola Jokic, who can now adjust to the Thunder’s attacks by reviewing a series’ worth of film.
The final reason is that Denver’s offseason additions improve their two biggest weaknesses. They were able to add Cam Johnson, Jonas Valanciunas, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Bruce Brown. The Nuggets heavily increased their bench after a lack of depth proved costly against the Thunder in the playoffs. In addition, they improved their backup center spot for the future with the addition of Valanciunas and the return of last year’s first-round pick, DaRon Holmes, who missed his rookie year due to a torn Achilles tendon. The Nuggets gave the Thunder the most trouble last year, and they got even better in the offseason. As a result, we could very well see a rematch next season in the playoffs.
The Last Word on Who the Thunder Should Fear the Most in the West
There are a couple of other teams, like the Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors, that were close to making the list. However, these are the four teams that should be the biggest threat to the Thunder, with the Nuggets being the biggest. The Thunder are running it back next season and are solely hoping for in-house improvement instead of adding talent like these teams did. If the Thunder aren’t careful, they could very well continue the streak of the NBA crowning a new champion next season.
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