Charles Barkley Reveals Top Threat to Thunder in the West Next Season

Despite this, there have been multiple teams who have upgraded their roster this offseason and while NBA legend Charles Barkley believes the Thunder are the team to beat, he named two teams, including the Denver Nuggets, as ones who could dethrone the Thunder.

“I said Denver’s got a shot at it. But that’s it. Now, I think the (Houston) Rockets got a shot at it. But I said halfway through the season, nobody can beat that team four times,” Barkley said about the Thunder. “You might beat them one time. You might beat them two times, You might beat them three times. But you got to beat them four times. They’re gonna be the favorites for the next three or four years. They’re young, They’re talented, They’re very well coached. Now, the Rockets have had a great summer. So have the Nuggets. But those are the top three teams in the West right now.”

While Barkley was quick to point out that he believes the Thunder are going to be the team to beat, he did name the Nuggets and Rockets as teams to watch.

For Denver, they have made multiple moves this offseason to upgrade their roster around their core of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon.

They traded Michael Porter Jr. for Cameron Johnson from the Brooklyn Nets, acquired Jonas Valanciunas from the Sacramento Kings and also signed Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown in free agency.

With these moves, the Nuggets were able to bolster their starting lineup and their bench and with Jokic leading the way, Denver may have the best shot of any team in the West to dethrone the Thunder next season.