Oklahoma City’s star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t getting ahead of himself when it comes to discussing a potential second consecutive NBA championship.
While that might appear unusual, it perfectly reflects the mindset of Gilgeous-Alexander and the entire Thunder organization.
The team focuses on the here and now. They avoid jumping ahead or expending energy on matters beyond their influence. Oklahoma City — the league’s current titleholders and top overall playoff seed heading into Saturday’s postseason opener — maintains a straightforward approach and lets results speak for themselves.
This explains why the current NBA MVP and Finals MVP in Gilgeous-Alexander believes discussions about consecutive championships and breaking the league’s historic streak of different winners — seven unique champions across seven seasons — should be postponed for several weeks.
“That’s so far down the line,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “So many things are going to happen before we get to the finals-clinching game. Yeah, it’s cool. To have the opportunity to repeat means you won before, so it’s cool. I’ll keep it there.”
Put simply: Oklahoma City’s complete attention centers on the opening round’s first game.
The championship path runs through OKC once more, as 16 franchises begin their two-month quest to determine who will hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy in June. Detroit claims the Eastern Conference’s number one position, while the Thunder lead the Western bracket. San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama prepares for his inaugural playoff appearance, and the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James enters his 19th postseason in 21 years.
“It’s competitive basketball,” James said. “Anytime you’re able to be in meaningful games, it definitely means a lot more for sure.”
Eastern Conference matchups feature: Top-seeded Detroit waiting for either Orlando or Charlotte (determined Friday evening), second-seeded Boston facing seventh-seeded Philadelphia in their 23rd playoff series (the league’s most frequent postseason pairing), third-seeded New York battling sixth-seeded Atlanta, and fourth-seeded Cleveland confronting fifth-seeded Toronto.
Western Conference brackets include: Number one Oklahoma City awaiting either Phoenix or Golden State (also decided Friday evening), second-seeded San Antonio opposing seventh-seeded Portland, third-seeded Denver facing sixth-seeded Minnesota (their third encounter in four years), and fourth-seeded Lakers meeting fifth-seeded Houston — creating an intriguing clash between 41-year-old James and 37-year-old Kevin Durant with the Rockets.
“Obviously it’s the biggest stage of basketball and there’s a lot that comes around the game,” Durant said. “But at the end of the day, when that ball’s tipped up, it’s just basketball. We all know how to play at this level. We all know what it takes to win basketball games. Just got to do that consistently.”
The Thunder — who opened with a 24-1 record and finished strong at 19-3 in their final 22 contests — never relinquished first place in the Western Conference throughout the entire season. Detroit nearly accomplished the same feat in the East, requiring approximately two and a half weeks to reach the top spot before maintaining that position.
“We feel like we play a playoff brand of basketball every night,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “We’re a physical team. We’re a gritty team. We’re a tough team. We orchestrate well in the trenches. Those are things you have to do in the playoffs.”
Recent champions include Toronto in 2019, followed by the Lakers in 2020, Milwaukee in 2021, Golden State in 2022, Denver in 2023, Boston in 2024, and Oklahoma City last season.
This unprecedented stretch — seven different winners in seven consecutive years — has never occurred in NBA history.
Several legitimate contenders could extend this remarkable pattern. Betting favorites to potentially claim titles include Detroit, New York, and San Antonio.
“I dream about it every day,” Wembanyama said.
The young star remains uncertain how his championship aspirations might compare to actual reality, should San Antonio succeed. Oklahoma City discovered this feeling last year when they captured Game 7 of the NBA Finals at home, finally delivering a title to OKC and completing one of the most successful seasons in league history.
Since this season began, the Thunder haven’t focused on winning consecutive championships. While defending a title creates genuine pressure, they consider such expectations external factors. Oklahoma City concentrates solely on daily challenges, an approach that succeeded last year and makes them heavy favorites to repeat.
“This group of guys is preconditioned to compete,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “They’re preconditioned to stay inside the team. And they’ve stayed in character on that through a lot of different experiences over a long period of time. So, that’s allowed us to just focus a lot on the basketball.”
