NBA legends pick which Western Conference team will reach NBA Finals

If not for trade-deadline acquisition Gordon Hayward, the Thunder would have a combined playoff experience of 30 games. 

While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (13) and Luguentz Dort (six) account for most of them, Isaiah Joe averaged two minutes across 11 games for the Sixers a few years ago.

That's how young this OKC team is.

Yet, the second-seeded Thunder (38-17) continue to roll past teams with winning records — a remarkable feat for such a young squad. 

On Thursday, the Thunder blew out the Clippers 129-107 to improve to 2-1 on the season against Kawhi Leonard's team. They also own winning records against the Nuggets (3-1), Celtics (1-0), Suns (1-0), Knicks (1-0), Cavaliers (2-0) and Warriors (3-1).

The Thunder's ability to put away good teams has caught the attention of two NBA legends — Shaquille O’Neal and Vince Carter. 

On Thursday's edition of "Inside the NBA" on TNT, Shaq and Carter explained why they are picking the Thunder to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals in June.

"I think OKC is a scary, scary team," Carter said. "Maybe the just don't know any better, and they’re playing… they all fall in line. They know who their guy [SGA] is. They are active, young and athletic. They just play hard together. I think OKC's the team to watch. They can really come out of the West."

When reminded by Kenny Smith of the Thunder's limited playoff experience, O'Neal stressed that OKC can go against the grain and upset veteran ball clubs.

"The way they're playing, they can [beat seasoned teams]," O’Neal said of Thunder. "I'm giving Denver the respect because they're the champions, but I like OKC."

If O'Neal and Carter’s predictions come true, the 2023-2024 Thunder would incidentally become the youngest team in the NBA Finals since the 2011-12 iteration of the OKC franchise featuring Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden.