How Roster Continuity Sets Thunder up for 2025-26 Success

No team has won back-to-back NBA championships this decade; in fact, no team has accumulated back-to-back NBA Finals appearances since the Golden State Warriors dynasty in the late 2010s. No team has had the number of key returners the OKC Thunder will have this season, however.

The reigning champions are returning nearly the entire team from a season ago. The only offseason departures were former first-round pick Dillon Jones and two-way players Adam Flagler and Alex Ducas. Also, the team added 2024 No. 12 pick Nikola Topic following a full "redshirt" season of recovery.

This amount of key returners is unheard of in the current state of the league. The only recent reigning champion that could say the same was last season's Boston Celtics, who returned its entire key rotation as well, but failed to get past the second round due to injuries from key players like Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis.

The Thunder have built this team for years, adding various key players to the original core. Canadian guards Luguentz Dort and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have been the constant two from the start of the rebuild to now.

Having two veteran leaders who know the system and city to help everyone else adjust is what allowed this team to succeed early, and now the team is immortalized forever. The players have given back to the community as well, adding the all-important connection from the fanbase and the organization.

Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti described the importance of continuity and the connection with a fanbase in his Thursday press conference.

"We have a team, and we have had continuity on both mountains, pretty significant continuity both times. So there hasn't been necessarily a turnstile of personnel through here," Presti said.

"There has been a lot of players, but I do think the ability to be one of the first through the door as a player in a community like this, you can have a significant impact."

Having a young team still hungry for more, united as brothers, makes this Thunder team more threatening to repeat than the past champions this decade. Players were still getting accustomed to playing alongside each other last season, and OKC were still champions.

Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein are perfect examples of this. The "double center" lineup still is yet to unlock its full potential; a healthy season from the two can unleash their chemistry.

The players had an entire playoff run together and now a full offseason to recover and work on any weaknesses. With another season of the same rotation, the Thunder are in a perfect position to repeat.