The Oklahoma City Thunder will continue their quest for a championship on Thursday night as they host the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
Oklahoma City has been dominant this season as they finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA and that has continued into the playoffs.
Of course, the Thunder were easily able to reach the NBA Finals, though they were challenged by the Denver Nuggets in the second round, and they will look to continue their dominance against the Pacers with a championship on the line.
Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
May 26, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8), forward Chet Holmgren (7) and guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) talk to the media after defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves in game four of the western conference finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Target Center.
© Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
With the Thunder building a clear contender for years to come due to their young core led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, many have begun to question whether they could be the NBA’s next dynasty.
Former NBA star DeMarcus Cousins gave his thoughts on the subject on Wednesday and he made a loud statement regarding the Thunder’s potential dynasty compared to the one the Golden State Warriors had.
“It's a dynasty that'll be even more powerful than what we saw with the Warriors,” Cousins said.
This is a bold statement by Cousins, especially with the dynasty that the Warriors put together which resulted in them winning five championships.
Despite this, Cousins made a good point as he pointed out how the Thunder have more assets than the Warriors did during their dynasty due to Oklahoma City’s abundance of draft capital over the next few seasons.
Nikola Topic and Sam Presti
Nikola Topic and Sam Presti
© SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK
General manager Sam Presti has built this Thunder team from the ground up through the draft and key trade decisions that not only landed them some of their stars like Shai and Williams, but also landed them some of their key role players.
With this in mind, the Thunder clearly have a shot at being the next dynasty in the NBA, even if they do not win the championship this season thanks to the youth of their roster and multitude of future draft capital.