OKC Thunder Trio Lands Top Spot on ‘Big Three’ List

The depth of Oklahoma City’s team is one of the main reasons that the Thunder won an NBA Championship this past season. Of course, the coaching, complete buy-in, and management set the stage for this Thunder team to succeed, but it was a complete group effort.

Nobody has had more of an impact on accelerating this rebuild and reaching the promised land than Oklahoma City’s ‘Big Three,’ though. The Thunder went from a team with loads of draft picks, to a fun team with potential, and finally, a completely dominant super team — and the team’s three best players were the biggest catalysts. 

Spearheaded by the best player in the world, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, nobody could’ve predicted this meteoric rise. Jalen Williams has improved at an extreme pace and has become one of the NBA’s best forwards, earning All-NBA honors and an All-Defensive Team selection. And Chet Holmgren, even through unfortunate injury luck, has turned himself into one of the NBA’s best rim protectors and most promising young big men in the NBA. 

It has been the perfect storm for the Thunder’s trio, full of fast-tracked progression and rising levels of chemistry. After a regular season of dominance capped off by an NBA title, it feels more than safe to say it. Oklahoma City has the best ‘Big Three’ in the league — and that’s not changing anytime soon.

In Bleacher Report's latest list ranking the best trios in the NBA, they got the top spot right.

“The youngest Big 3 on this list is also the NBA's best, which should be terrifying for the rest of the league,” Greg Swartz wrote.

“Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren average less than 25 years in age, yet between them stamped a championship, MVP, two All-Star appearances, a pair of All-NBA teams and an All-Defensive team on their resumes all in the last calendar year. Of course, the three were properly rewarded with a whopping $822 million in new contracts and extensions this offseason.”

It's clear that Oklahoma City's plan is completely built around the team's top three players now, as Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, and Holmgren are all locked down deep into future years. With the impending CBA aprons, many questioned whether the Thunder would be able to keep this team together. The priority was simple though, keep the main three players together and figure out the rest in time.

As long as Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren, and Williams are on the roster and in good health, Oklahoma City will be contending for an NBA championship.