Three questions Thunder must answer to win NBA title again

The NBA has had seven different champions in the last seven seasons. The Oklahoma City Thunder want to buck that trend, and they'll be doing it with nearly the same team that won it all in June.

The Thunder handed out long-term extensions to their three top players, brought back two promising reserves and are welcoming 2024 lottery pick Nikola Topic after an ACL injury kept him out all last season. They traded one of their first-round picks and lost another, No. 15 pick Thomas Sorber, to an ACL injury.

They'll go into the 2025-26 as favorites to repeat, but if they want to get a second ring, they'll need to answer three big questions.

1. Can Chet Holmgren stay healthy?

The Thunder rewarded young center Chet Holmgren with a five-year maximum salary extension that starts in 2026-27. The 23-year-old big man was a huge part of the Thunder's suffocating playoff defense, blocking 1.9 shots in 29.8 minutes per game.

But Holmgren also missed 50 games last season, the majority after a pelvic fracture suffered in early November that kept him out for three months. He played all 82 games in 2023-24, but missed all of what would have been his rookie season due to a summer injury.

Holmgren's slender 7-foot-1 frame aids in his shot-blocking and speed, but also appears to leave him vulnerable to injury. He also seems to wear down in the playoffs, shooting under 30 percent from three-point range in his last two playoff trips after shooting in the 37 percent range in the regular season. Keeping their young big man fresh and on the court might be the Thunder's top priority.

2. Will the Thunder continue to get calls?

MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made 7.9 free throws per game, tops in the league, and upped that to an average of 8.3 for each playoff game. Along the way, he developed a reputation as a "free-throw merchant," which opposing fans often chanted during games.

That's not really fair, given how often SGA drives, but perception can change the way referees officiate the superstar and his team. As a team, the Thunder finished 26th in the NBA in free throws per game despite SGA, while committing the eighth-most fouls. If they get an even more unfavorable whistle, it could slow down their offense and perhaps make them adjust their overly-aggressive defense.

3. Can they find more ball handlers?

Honestly, there aren't many questions or weaknesses for a Thunder team that's returning its entire rotation, with only two players older than 27 — except for point guard depth. In the playoffs, the team had to survive two seven-game series, in part because the offense often bogged down.

The team relies heavily on Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams to create on offense. In the NBA Finals, the Indiana Pacers had success making the Thunder stars play one-on-one and pressuring the ball to force turnovers. OKC has a lot of perimeter defense and perimeter shooting, but not a lot of reliable dribblers.

That could change next season if 21-year-old Cason Wallace develops his handle, or if Topic can show the same passing skills he displayed playing in Serbia before his injury. The Thunder need to get other ball handlers comfortable over the course of the season so they are ready for the playoffs — and so they can give their high-usage MVP a break.