Jun 24, 2025; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) holds the Larry OíBrien Championship Trophy with the team behind him during the Champions Opening Ceremony for the parade inside the Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

OKC Thunder's Stress-Free Offseason a Rare Luxury in NBA

Originally posted on Oklahoma City Thunder on SI
By Ivan White | Last updated Sep 12, 2025 1:30 PM ET

The Oklahoma City Thunder are coming off their first NBA title, and that has resulted in some luxuries this offseason.

Every season, the NBA will crown only one champion, but there is never any shortage of competitors looking to secure the Larry O’Brien Trophy. After coming up short time and time again in their short history in Oklahoma City, the Thunder finally broke through to capture their first championship.

Considering the Thunder are one of the league’s youngest teams still, there was always going to be a sense of optimism this offseason, even if the team fell short. With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren leading the way, the Thunder are set to be one of the league’s top contenders through at least the rest of the decade.

While seemingly everything went the Thunder’s way in the postseason, this offseason is another indication of how lucky they are to be in this position. In a recent Bleacher Report article, Andy Bailey placed the Thunder at No. 30 in the league’s chaos rankings, and it’s easy to understand why.

“OKC isn't just the steadiest run team in the NBA,” Bailey wrote. “It might be the steadiest run team in all of major professional team sports right now.”

Although the Thunder were coming off an NBA title, there were still some pressing questions this offseason, particularly about the potential extensions for their three stars. Sam Presti and company clearly didn’t have much to fret about as all three signed max extensions this summer.

Those extensions were easily the closest thing to chaos that Oklahoma City had to deal with at any point. Oklahoma City is set to bring back 14 players from the championship roster, with all of them being under contract coming into the offseason.

While that was effectively the case for the Thunder in 2024, they still had some clear issues to address to take the next step. That step was obviously taken last season, with veterans Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso playing significant roles in the Thunder’s run to a title.

Considering all of that, the most chaotic thing that has happened for the Thunder has actually been their championship celebration. From a parade that brought over half a million people to Oklahoma City and a full summer of pure joy for the community, there really hasn’t been much for the Thunder to worry about ahead of next season.

Although Thomas Sorber’s torn ACL has put a damper on things toward the end of the offseason, everyone from the championship run is still set to be on the floor when the season tips off in just over a month.

This article first appeared on Oklahoma City Thunder on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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