With a few games left heading into the playoffs, can the Oklahoma City Thunder chase history and repeat as champions? As the playoff chase looms closer, it seems that there will be a lot to expect from the defending champs as they try to win a title once more.

Right from the start of the season, Oklahoma City has been the favorite to win the 2026 NBA Finals. Now that we are in the playoff chase, the Thunder remain the best team in the league to look out for. Of course, there are now teams that have gotten better, and they’ve posed bigger threats to OKC more than ever.

For a team that was hyped to win 77 games when the season began, the Thunder were a far cry from that. But they’re certainly not that far from the team that finished 68-14 last season. By now, you should know that this squad didn’t budge from being the top team in the league.

Their playoff chances aren’t that bad either. They are projected to be nearly 40% as winners of the NBA Finals. In fact, there’s even a strong chance that they’ll still plow through the competition even if they face the heavyweight teams in the Western Conference.

That would at least be the San Antonio Spurs, the Denver Nuggets, or probably the Los Angeles Lakers. First-round opponents may not be that big a problem, considering they’ve swept teams they faced there in two straight playoff runs. At this point, one can say that the Thunder really have it all in their favor, and it may tilt them towards a historic finish.

The fact that they’ve gone for 60 wins in back-to-back seasons is a massive feat. Now that they’re setting their eyes on the playoff stage. In fact, it’s going to be a huge campaign for them to prove their critics wrong, and no one would want to miss out on their storied journey so far.

A Chance at Immortality

Not every team has managed to come up with back-to-back championships. In fact, the list is so short that it has become a standard of NBA immortality. The Lakers, for instance, have done this feat multiple times. The Celtics? They had an eight-year reign back in the 1960s. The Michael Jordan-led Bulls had two three-peat championships in seven years.

The most recent team to win back-to-back titles? The Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018. Since then, it’s been a parity era in the NBA, with a new champion named every season. This year, however, it does seem that the Thunder stand with a strong chance to pull off such a feat.

To be fair, Oklahoma City finds itself in historic company at this point. Not long ago, they posted one of the league's best defenses. It cannot be denied that we’re looking for the same energy that they boasted back then. They’re not a dominant 3pt-shooting team like the Warriors, but they’re certainly capable of pulling off big threes when they need them.

But what makes OKC unique is that they are doing it all with effective defense. Then turning defense into offense. When they play freely on the floor, Oklahoma City is a very dangerous team to contend against. Just ask the Grizzlies, the Nuggets, the Timberwolves, and the Pacers–who all fell victim to them in the 2025 Playoffs.

This season may not be that different at all. The Thunder have shown that they can match opponents when needed. The fact that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has played

fewer fourth quarters this season than last year is astounding. With all the injuries that they’ve seen so far, it’s hard to believe that they’re still the best in the NBA.

Waging War Against the West

The Thunder aren’t exactly as dominating as they were last year. In fact, they’ve lost multiple games to Eastern Conference teams this season. Last season, they went undefeated. The gap between the rest of the West isn’t also that convincing. OKC finished with a 16-game cushion over the Houston Rockets last season. They were winning games dominantly.

This season, they’re not exactly winning a lot by double digits this season. The Spurs beat them in the season series, but the Thunder actually won the last one convincingly. Denver hasn’t been really great against OKC, and not much of a collection of teams can beat them well other than San Antonio.

To sum it up, maybe the Thunder has a strong chance to win it all, especially against the West. Sure, it does look like the Spurs may become their Kryptonite soon. However, it may be one way to really test the Thunder’s mettle. Denver was a proving ground for OKC last season, and now it seems that San Antonio may be the next hurdle.

Can OKC Storm Back to the Top?

A few more games left to play in the season, the Thunder hope to prove that they can win it all again. In fact, it’s very timely that they try to embrace the villain arc. After all, most teams that have been labelled villains have become champions. Just look at LeBron James and Stephen Curry–who have come up with recent legacies as villains as well.

Shai is showing the rest of the league that the Thunder has what it takes to be a dynasty. They are one of the best teams we’ve seen so far, and it does point toward a chance at winning this year. No team has been able to repeat as champions in a long while. The odds are in OKC’s favor so far, and this is their chance to make the most out of their window.