The historic OKC defense was a huge factor in the team's success last season. Now everyone is trying to copy the same blueprint coming into 2025-26. Defense wins championships. That’s what the Thunder proved in the 2024-25 season when it campaigned for what has been the best season in franchise history.

This eventually led to their first championship in the OKC era, but now a bigger task lies before them: Defending their title. But is it truly an easy thing to copy what they have been doing all season long?

We have seen how champions have set the bar. The Golden State Warriors in 2015 introduced the small-ball lineup and an increased volume of threes, and many teams have adopted the same. The Boston Celtics, in 2024, emphasized the importance of depth, and many teams added key role players to their squads. So when the Thunder took pride in its defense, contending teams were quick to join in on the hype.

Breaking Down the OKC Defense

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s identity was established a long time ago, since it became a competitive team in the Western Conference. Thunder GM Sam Presti forged this identity without many people noticing it. They even had a shot at the big trophy in 2012, but youth got the better of them.

This was expanded further when they molded the rest of the team to be versatile defenders in their own right. If you take a look at the OKC roster, almost every single one of them is a proven threat on defense. Even Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning MVP, finished with the second-most steals last season. This physical approach to the defense proved that Oklahoma City’s mentality became a testament to how champions should always focus on defense first.

Of course, the fabled OKC defense led the league in defensive rating, opponent FG% and forced turnovers in the 2024-25 campaign alone. We have seen how the Thunder turned defense into offense, wreaking havoc with plenty of disruption. Their physical defense is outstanding proof that they can truly take over and control the game.

All of these point toward Oklahoma City being the catalyst of a generational defense that hasn’t been seen in a long time. Now more than ever, OKC is the gold standard for a lot of teams heading into the season. But will any team succeed in copying their defensive level of play?

You Need Good Defenders

Alex Caruso, Luguentz Dort and Cason Wallace. These three players have been causing chaos for opposing teams, and it shows. Caruso and Wallace, known as the “Cookies and Cream” duo, are the latest defensive standouts so far. Caruso is already known for being able to provide the 3-and-D option for OKC, and so is Dort with his impressive on-ball defense that earned him an All-Defense recognition. Wallace, on the other hand, is a young player getting a bigger spotlight and getting mentored by impressive defenders.

Then there’s the fact that Chet Holmgren is a rising shot blocker and is even a top-two favorite for the Defensive Player of the Year this coming season. Then you have SGA’s two-way ability, who had 131 steals in 2024-25. Jalen Williams is also a lethal defender who can turn up the energy for OKC, and it’s worth noting that he was named to the All-Defense Second Team last season.

When Nikola Jokic commented on the new defensive style by Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman, it turned many heads and ignited a lot of discussions.

“We are trying to be aggressive,” Jokić said last Friday per the Denver Post. “We’re trying to be, like, close to a foul — testing the refs to call the fouls. That’s something that we’re gonna try to do. That was the emphasis of the practice.”

Well, that’s a first. The Nuggets made some roster revamps, and while this is a step forward, they don’t have the same defensive-minded players that OKC has, which sets a significant difference to begin with. The Thunder had prepared for this, building up this defensive identity for years, and it paid off.

Youth Plays a Critical Role

Back then, the OKC defense was often criticized for being too unconventional and unpredictable by NBA standards. Aside from having great defenders, OKC has also relied on a young roster, which makes it tougher to imitate them. The defensive identity that the champs have made says a lot about how unique a team they are.

Youth plays a bigger role than most people think. Fresh legs, fresh perspective and an eagerness to lay their bodies on the floor to dive for loose balls, go for steals, deflections and so on. Oklahoma City has been that way for quite some time now, which points to more years of dominance and learning.

As we have seen in the previous season, having less experience than other Western Conference teams isn’t much of a bad thing. It allows the Thunder to be themselves, and their youth has become quite a strength rather than a weakness. They aren’t accustomed to the rules in approaching the postseason like many other teams do. They do it in their own way. The mere fact that the OKC defense can revolutionize the modern NBA says a lot about how youth is their main power for the time being.

The Thunder Chemistry is Hard to Achieve

Overall, replicating the OKC defense can be a hard thing if the copying team doesn’t have the same level of team chemistry. We have seen over the years how the Thunder slowly kept the same core of players and eventually grew close throughout the rebuilding years. It felt longer, but they were only out of playoff contention for a few years, and quickly won a championship after a strong set of seasons.

This just says a lot about how the Thunder's chemistry has evolved over the years. With it, the OKC defense also became prominent. They trusted one another to bring the energy on both ends of the floor, and it has paid off with a league title. Their level of trust in each other is quite hard to achieve with many teams.

At this point, fans can expect to see a lot of gritty teams doing the same things that OKC does. Running down the floor, hustling for loose balls, doing some full-court presses, and even coming up with huge margins of victories. This is the Thunder brand, and one can say that this is going to take some time before the OKC defense can be truly replicated and turned into a championship recipe for another team.