OKC Thunder Duo's Complementary Style Makes Them Best in Team History

Rankings run the NBA. Everyone loves to compile lists of best duos, best players, best coaches, best front offices, best fans, best media members, best teams, best games and everything else you can think of. Heck, Steph Curry even ranked his best in-arena popcorn.

It drives conversations, it serves as fodder between the action and people are deeply rooted in these arbitrary lists. When it comes to ranking the Oklahoma City Thunder's best star duos, the list is pretty clear...If you can let go of nostalgia.

The OKC Thunder have had three true duos. Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. Westbrook and Paul George. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams.

While many still cling to the crew from yesteryear, unable to shake Westbrook's rim-rattling dunks and Durant's deadly jumpers. They can't allow themselves to look past the years of wars that duo went through, experiencing the battles alongside them. You never forget your first.

However, despite only two playoff runs under their belt, Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams mark the best duo in Thunder history.

That's saying a lot given the longevity, heights and memories the first duo formed in Oklahoma City pulled off. Even the Westbrook-George pairing say a third-in-MVP finish. The Thunder, in its short history, has been home to all-time greats.

This is not a debate of skillset, or where you would rank each member of a tag team. If you look at it through that lens, it is impossible to put anyone ahead of the two sure-fire Hall of Famers who each made the top-75 all-time players list.

Though if you judge the partnerships based on complementary skillsets, it is just as hard to not pick the current crop of star power in Bricktown.

The Thunder have never been this close to a title, a chance to capture its first championship with a Game 6 win on Thursday, it is largely due to how well Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams work off one another.

"Yeah, it's been fun so far. I think both of us just trust each other, have the same mindset, winning mindset, want the best for each other above all. Me and him are also naturally really good friends. We talk all the time on and off the court. Always together. That helps with it, for sure," Gilgeous-Alexander explained. "Then we just use our experiences together to grow. Whether I see something, he sees something, whether we feel something in the moment, both being out there. We just use everything together to grow on and off the court. It's helped us so far."

The reason Oklahoma City has been so successful is in part due to its free-flowing offense. A system designed to put everyone in a position to succeed and play off the catch. It is also a byproduct of two stars co-existing, doing whatever it takes to win.

"Honestly, it's a mixture of both of those. I think what helps is that we both want to win. So for me and him, it doesn't really matter who is the leading scorer or who is not. I think it also helps pecking order-wise, he's the MVP. If he wants to shoot a lot of shots, I'm going to tell him "good shot" every time. That's kind of how that works," Williams stated. "A lot of it, too, is a result of our offense and how other guys play around us, how it's structured. We don't really go into games and, All right, I'm going to shoot 20 times; Dub, you shoot 12. It's kind of taking whatever the game gives us. I think that's what makes us a good team."

In the last three games of the 2025 NBA Finals, the Thunder's dynamic duo has each averaged 30-plus points en route to a 2-1 record that swung this series in Oklahoma City's favor, 3-2.

It isn't as if the Durant-Westbrook era was devoid of high-scoring nights. Quite the opposite. But it is the ways in which Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams get to their buckets that sets them apart.

This current Thunder squad rarely falls into the your-turn, my-turn trap of the isolating style of yesteryear's Oklahoma City club. As a matter of fact, their ability to play off one another makes the biggest difference.

 "They're incredibly unique. They have unbelievable skill sets. That's every great player," Head Coach Mark Daigneault detailed. "A lot of it for us is just trying to help every player on our team maximize their individual style of play. Obviously, those two guys have very broad styles because of all the things they can do. They deserve the credit for what they're able to do out there on the court. They're great players, but they do it inside the team. It doesn't suffocate our team. It doesn't take away from our other players' abilities to impact the game. That's why the team's been successful."

Take Game 4 of these Finals for example, while the MVP had a 15-point fourth frame, it was in large part set up by Williams in the two-man game with these two youngsters running guard-to-guard screening action that allowed both to find success.

Oklahoma City has never been in this spot before, 48 minutes for a title, they have built this core the right way with an 18-man roster that plays off each other's skillsets very well –– Which starts at the top, with a pair of All-NBA players.