Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged over 30 points per game for four straight seasons. He has won back-to-back MVP awards. He took the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Western Conference Finals last year, where they pushed the San Antonio Spurs to seven games before falling short.
None of that slowed them down. When training camp opens September 29, the Thunder enter as co-title favorites at +260 – tied, of all things, with those same Spurs.
A Starting Five That Still Looks Dangerous
The core is intact. SGA, Cason Wallace, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein are back together, and the combination of chemistry and youth is still rare in this league. Holmgren is 24. Williams is 26. They know how to play with each other, and they are not done improving.
What changed this summer is the bench. Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe are gone – three players who were not stars but knew their roles cold. Holmgren put it plainly: losing them felt “like losing a family member.” He was not wrong. Dort alone anchored the team’s defensive identity for years, guarding opposing wings every night with a physicality that sets the tone.
New Pieces, Open Questions
Sam Presti brought in Aday Mara, Bennett Stirtz and Nikola Topic to soak up those minutes. All three are young, all three have potential – but potential is different from production. Stirtz, 23, showed real shooting touch in limited G League exposure. Mara, a 7-footer from Spain, is still adapting to the pace and physicality of the NBA. Topic, the 2024 lottery pick, finally gets meaningful time to develop.
These are good problems to have. They are also real problems. Replacing Dort’s defensive intensity is not something a front office can guarantee.
SGA’s Window – and What It Requires
Going for his third consecutive MVP this season, SGA remains the most complete offensive player in the league. No other player has scored 30-plus per game for four straight years. He is the reason Oklahoma City is in every conversation about the 2026-27 title.
But the WCF exit last spring was a reminder: individual brilliance only goes so far in a seven-game series. The Spurs wore down OKC’s depth in the final three games, and it showed. This year’s version of that depth has more upside and less proven track record.
The Thunder are favorites because SGA is the best player on the floor most nights. Whether that is enough to go all the way depends on whether Mara, Stirtz and Topic show up when it counts.
They will find out starting September 29.
Sources : ESPN | Eastern Herald
