Former OKC Thunder MVP Praises Current Squad

Oklahoma City’s run to the NBA Finals has caught the attention of the basketball world, including a former Thunder star.

On Wednesday night, the Thunder punched their ticket to the NBA Finals to earn the franchise’s first trip to the final round since 2012. Going into Game 5, there was an expectation for the Thunder to close out the Western Conference Finals on their home floor and secure a celebration much like the one 13 years ago.

With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander winning Western Conference Finals MVP, he put the final touches on the Thunder’s run through the West, dropping 34 in the clinching win. In the Thunder’s last run to the Finals, another young superstar scored 34 points in the final game of the conference finals. Of course, that was Kevin Durant..

While Durant’s relationship with the franchise and fan base has been rocky at best since his departure to Golden State in 2016, there is no denying the impact he had with the Thunder. Recently, a fan on Twitter asked Durant which team he would take in a hypothetical matchup between his 2012 Thunder and this 2025 team.

While Durant began his response by saying he doesn’t believe in hypotheticals and never gave a clear-cut answer on which team he would pick, he was quick to praise the Thunder’s 68-win group. 

“Just a flat out perfectly crafted unit,” Durant said. “I f— with their approach to basketball. They are puttin together great film to learn from.”

In the same post, Durant mentioned the Thunder’s efficient go-to scorer in Gilgeous-Alexander and complimented the team’s versatility and coaching. Durant also called this version of his former team historically great, which holds up by any statistical measure.

While Durant’s praise for this year’s unit could show what direction he leans, another former Thunder MVP, Russell Westbrook, gave a much different answer when asked the same question during the Thunder-Nuggets second-round matchup. In typical Westbrook fashion, he was quick to say that his 2012 Thunder team would win, even if for no other reason than to say he would never pick against himself.

Although there is no way to know which team would win in a seven-game matchup, they are the only two teams to make the Finals in Thunder history. Of course, the 2025 Thunder could soon cement its status as the best team in franchise history with another four wins.