The Oklahoma City Thunder moved to 14-1 after a 126-109 win against the New Orleans Pelicans.

After winning the 2025 NBA Championship, the Thunder ran back the same squad as last year and look to go back-to-back.

Last season, the Thunder went 68-14 and dominated the Western Conference in the postseason thanks to 2025 MVP Shai Gilgeous Alexander (SGA) and stellar defense. 

The Thunder had the #1 defense in the NBA by a wide margin because of key players like Alex Caruso, Lu Dort, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, and many more. 

When most teams win the championship, they experience a hangover and don’t have that same motivation to win again now that they have already done it.

However, even with all those accomplishments, something felt missing. Last year, the Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers in 7 games, and many fans argued whether the Thunder would have won if star point guard for the Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton, didn’t go down with a torn achilles early in game 7. There was still more to prove.

So far, the Thunder have proved all the doubters wrong, starting 14-1 and being on pace to beat the 2016 Warriors, who went 73-9 for the best regular season record of all time. 

The Thunder once again have the best defense in the league, but a key piece has been missing from their team. The missing piece being 2025 All-NBA 3rd Team and All-NBA 2nd Defensive Team member Jalen Williams.

Williams dropped 40 points in the finals last year and took a huge leap. He has not stepped on the floor yet, which means the Thunder aren’t even close to their true potential.

ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins had this to say about the Thunder’s defensive success to Basketball Network:

“No J-Dub, yes, he was All-NBA, but he was also on an All-Defensive Team. And guess what? They sub five, and the five that come in off the bench all defend at a high level,” Perkins said. “I have never seen anything like that in NBA history. Not guys that can put the ball in the basket and defend at a high level. There’s just no drop-off. They’re stacked with wings. The shot-blocking is there between Hartenstein and Chet (Holmgren). And on top of that, your best player last year finished top five in steals — SGA!”

The Thunder have also won against very good teams this year as well. Beating teams like the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, and Golden State Warriors.

They have beaten teams so handily that SGA has sat out the 4th quarter in 9 out of his 15 games so far this year while still averaging 31.9 PPG.

The Thunder may not be everyone’s favorite team, but they are going to be here for a while and will be winning a lot of games for the time being.