NBA Insider Says Opposing Teams ‘Just Don’t Respect’ the OKC Thunder

Oklahoma City is having a historic season by franchise measurement. The Thunder are on pace to finish with the best record in team existence and are dominating on a nightly basis.

That doesn’t mean Oklahoma City has been free from the outside noise, though. Dating back to last season, the Thunder’s rise hasn’t garnered a lot of respect from veteran squads and the NBA media. Oklahoma City has had a label of being the youngest team in the NBA, which has caused some disbelief for how good this team really is.

Last season was a big step, as the Thunder finally locked down a playoff series. Oklahoma City swept the Pelicans and looked like they belonged. In the second round, though, the Thunder met its maker. Dallas took care of business and highlighted some of the Thunder’s shortcomings. It certainly wasn’t a slam dunk moment for the haters, though, as the Thunder proved they belonged and would be a force for years to come.

Despite offseason acquisitions and plenty of new data, though, NBA insider Brian Windhorst said that teams are still not afraid to face Oklahoma City in the postseason.

“My god, is there an incredible amount of disrespect for this team,” Windhorst said. “I hear it every day, I hear it implicitly from other people I talk to in the league, I hear it implicitly from players out there, who are like ‘Yeah, yeah we’ll be fine on the same side of the bracket as Oklahoma City.’ They just don’t respect them.

“Why? Look, they’re not a perfect team, if you want to make a case for why — they do have flaws! They have a problem tonight with Jalen Williams — their second leading scorer is out — and I think the Celtics are going to double team Shai when it matters. But this team is awesome. They defend, they dominate on that end of the court. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is absolutely one of the most efficient scorers we’ve seen in this era. This guy scores 30 points without breaking a sweat and he does it every single night.”

Windhorst has been a major proponent in the media’s belief in the Thunder, but as he said in the clip, it wasn’t necessarily by choice. He has been shocked by the lack of respect for the West’s No. 1 seed and feels the need to call it out on national television.

The additions of Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso have completely changed this team’s ceilings. Sure, there will be nights like Monday where teams knock down triples and Oklahoma City goes cold. But the stats and data behind this Thunder team are historic, and the eye test backs it up. Anybody with a 53-12 record should be taken seriously — especially a young, hungry team with an MVP candidate.

“They have length, depth, size, and matchup versatility to switch on all the wings,” Windhorst said. “This team is absolutely capable of winning a championship. I get it, they’re the youngest team in the league. If you look at any league in any sport, you’re never going to respect the youngest team. 

“I’m not expecting people to cower from them, but my gosh I can’t believe how little respect there has been paid to a team that had 57 wins last year. And is on the way to 65, 67 wins this year.”