Where do OKC Thunder Rank Among Western Conference Teams after Free Agency?

The Oklahoma City Thunder easily ran away with the top spot in the Western Conference during the 2024-25 regular season.

While OKC wasn't quite as dominant in the postseason, the Thunder still came away with the team's first NBA title.

After winning a championship and returning 14 of the 15 championship winners, replacing Dillon Jones with 2025 draft pick Thomas Sorber, Oklahoma City is natural favorites to repeat early in the offseason.

While winning one title is difficult, going back-to-back is even harder, as evident by the past decade. The last team to win consecutive championships was the Golden State Warriors, who defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017 and 2018.

For OKC to reach the NBA Finals again in 2026, the team will have to overcome a number of strong Western Conference competitors who made big moves over the offseason.

After taking the Thunder to seven games in the second round of the playoffs, the Denver Nuggets traded Michael Porter Jr. for Cam Johnson, signed Bruce Brown and traded Dario Saric for Jonas Valanciunas.

The Houston Rockets, who earned the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference in 2025, traded multiple pieces for Kevin Durant before signing Dorian Finney-Smith and Clint Capela.

After a number of free agency moves and trades have altered rosters across the leagye, ESPN ranked the West in five tiers. Oklahoma City sat alone in the "clear-cut favorite" tier.

"Outside of rostering 2024 first-round pick Nikola Topic the Thunder haven't added any new players via trade or free agency -- but why would they need to? The defending champs already had the league's deepest rotation. And they will presumably only get better in 2025-26," Zach Kram wrote.

The second group featured Houston, Denver and the Minnesota Timberwolves, who Oklahoma City defeated 4-1 in the Western Conference Finals.

ESPN's third tier, labeled "the old guard", included the LA Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks.

Each of the aforementioned eight teams should have strong seasons, demonstrating the talent in the Western Conference. Additionally, teams like the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs will likely compete for playoff spots if they stay healthy.

With so many solid teams in the West, having enough depth to earn wins in the regular season while limiting certain players to preserve them for the playoffs, like the team did with Alex Caruso, will be important for OKC's title hopes in 2026.