Oklahoma City enters the new season with a 64-win résumé, a championship core and far less room to coast. The Thunder were the West’s top regular-season team last year, but San Antonio ended their run in a seven-game Western Conference Finals, turning a wide-open path into a crowded race with the Spurs, Minnesota, Denver and Houston.
| Thunder snapshot | Figure |
|---|---|
| 2025-26 record | 64-18, first in West |
| West finals result | Lost to San Antonio in seven games |
| Regular-season scoring margin | +11.1 points per game |
| Defensive edge vs. league average | 8.3 fewer points allowed per 100 possessions |
| Rotation minutes vacated | 59 per game |
The roster still starts with the core
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams remain the center of Oklahoma City’s plans, with a deep collection of future draft assets still available to replenish the roster. The Thunder added Aday Mara, Otega Oweh and Bennett Stirtz during the offseason.
There is, however, a real rotation turnover behind the stars. Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe are gone, removing three regular contributors and opening roughly 59 minutes a night. Dort and Wiggins were dealt to Atlanta in July, while Joe landed in Detroit in another July transaction that brought back draft capital.
Mark Daigneault begins his seventh season on the bench. He won Coach of the Year in 2024 and has not placed below sixth in the voting since 2023. His club went 64-18 overall last season, though its 1-4 record against San Antonio became a warning sign before the Spurs finished the job in May.
Ajay Mitchell is positioned for more
Ajay Mitchell is the most obvious internal candidate to absorb a larger share of those departed minutes. The 6-foot-4 guard played only 36 games as a rookie in 2024-25, then stayed healthier and produced 13.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists last season while receiving about 50 percent more playing time.
| Ajay Mitchell split | Thunder record |
|---|---|
| Regular season, Mitchell played | 50-7 |
| Regular season, Mitchell missed | 14-11 |
| Playoffs, Mitchell played | 10-1 |
| Playoffs, Mitchell missed | 1-3 |
Mitchell filled part of the gap created by Williams’ hamstring trouble and appeared in 57 games. The Thunder will need him available more often now, particularly after a calf injury sidelined him for the final four games of the conference finals.
Defense remains the floor of the operation
Oklahoma City allowed 8.3 fewer points per 100 possessions than the league norm of 114.8. That relative defensive mark was the second best in the three decades of available play-by-play data, trailing only the 2003-04 Spurs.
The offense slipped while Williams missed significant time during the season and playoffs. In the four Western Conference Finals defeats, Oklahoma City managed only 95.8 points per 100 possessions. Still, the Thunder’s defense drove an 11.1-point average margin across the regular season, the eighth largest in NBA history.
Dort routinely drew the top opposing perimeter assignment, but the Thunder posted their strongest defensive work with him off the court in both the regular season and playoffs. Their remaining personnel gives them a path toward a fourth straight top-five defensive finish.
Williams and Holmgren set the preseason agenda
Williams is looking to regain the form that made him an All-Star, a 21.6-point scorer, third-team All-NBA selection and second-team All-Defense choice two years ago. Wrist surgery and hamstring problems reduced both his involvement and effectiveness last season. His health will be an early camp priority.
Holmgren was one of the league’s most impactful power forwards in 2025-26, averaging 17.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks while finishing second in Defensive Player of the Year voting. His conference-finals production dipped to 10.7 points and 7.1 boards per game, and he shot 27 percent from three while taking only 7.3 attempts per night in the seven-game series. Oklahoma City will be looking for him to play with more conviction from the start.
Kenrich Williams returns on a one-year agreement to back up Holmgren. It will be his seventh season with the Thunder, and his place in the nightly rotation could depend on how quickly he establishes himself.
Dates that will frame the schedule
- Oct. 20 at San Antonio: Oklahoma City opens on the road against the Spurs, the team that eliminated it last spring.
- Nov. 23 vs. Indiana: A return meeting from the 2025 NBA Finals, with Tyrese Haliburton back for the Pacers after their one-year absence from the spotlight.
- Dec. 20 vs. Atlanta: Dort and Wiggins return with the Hawks. Oklahoma City then visits Joe and the Pistons on Dec. 23.
- Feb. 25 at New York: The Thunder resume after the All-Star break against the defending champions, followed two nights later by a Detroit game that puts Gilgeous-Alexander opposite Cade Cunningham.
- March 23 at Phoenix: The first half of a back-to-back in Phoenix during a closing stretch that includes seven road games in the final three weeks.
The Thunder are no longer the lone young contender with a clean runway in the West. Their stars, their defense and their draft inventory still give them one of the league’s strongest foundations. But after San Antonio exposed the margin for error, Oklahoma City’s next step depends on health, Mitchell’s expanded role and whether its returning frontcourt can carry postseason-level responsibility over a full season.
