The Thunder went 1-1 last week, marking their first loss of the season.
The Thunder went 1-1 in their two games this week, first losing to the Portland Trailblazers but then storming back to crush the Sacramento Kings in their first game of the NBA Cup Tournament. The Thunder have now played ten games in the regular season, and have started out the year strong with a record of 9-1, cementing their position as an early contender.
They played the Trailblazers in Portland, and after putting up a strong first quarter, failed to hold the lead and were narrowly beaten. However, it’s important to note that the Thunder did all of this without Chet Holmgren, their star center/forward, who was out due to a back injury. That was compounded by the fact that Luguentz Dort was out for a stiff neck as well, and Jalen Williams still hasn’t returned from injury. All in all, the Thunder were battling heavy injury problems and still controlled most of the game against a mid-tier team whilethe Trailblazers had to rely on some hot 3-point shooting and a late rally to win the game.
The Trailblazers, although far from a contender, have proven in the last eight games that they’re not a team to laugh off. They’ve beaten the Denver Nuggets and the Golden State Warriors, with their three losses being only against the Lakers, the Timberwolves and the Clippers, none of which were blowouts. And now, of course, they’ve beaten the reigning champs, even if the Thunder were injury-plagued. Of course, it’s very early in the season, but the Trailblazers seem to be a decent team this year, and if the Western Conference were a little less contender-heavy, they probably would be a playoff-caliber team. All this to say that the way the Thunder controlled most of the game, and even got off to a very hot start without some of their stars, is impressive.
The Thunder’s loss to Portland marked their first loss of the ’25-’26 season. Photo courtesy of @okcthunder on Instagram.
The script was completely different on Thursday night, when the Thunder demolished the Kings. Holmgren made a return, although Dort was still out. It should be noted that Domantas Sabonis, one of the Kings’ best players, was out, but it doesn’t seem like he would have made much of a difference. The Thunder seemed intent on coming out of the loss to the Trailblazers, well, blazing, and despite the seemingly chaotic nature of the NBA Cup, easily handled business against a Kings team that looks like it’s going to struggle this year. The Thunder won the game by 31 points, tying them for the 7th largest margin of victory this season, equaling their victory over the New Orleans Pelicans just a week earlier. It also ties them at the top of their NBA Cup group with the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Phoenix Suns.
Again, it has to be noted that the NBA Cup, in the last two editions, has produced some weird results, with the early-season lack of polish and the point-differential and (after the group stage) single-game elimination setup leading some teams of questionable quality far in the tournament (see the 2023 Pelicans). That being said, the Thunder are one of, if not the best, team in the NBA, and if Shai-Gilgeous Alexander keeps playing at an MVP level (and Dort and Holmgren get back to full health), there’s no reason the Thunder shouldn’t win the cup.
All in all, the Thunder have had an outstanding start to the season. 9-1 puts them as the best team in the league, with only the Detroit Pistons and the Luka Doncic-led Lakers close, both at 7-2. There hasn’t been a repeat champion in the NBA since the Warriors dynasty won in 2017 and 2018. Even in a very competitive West, with Luka Doncic and Victor Wembanyana (and, as always, Nikola Jokic) looking more like aliens than human basketball players, it’s clear that the Thunder are not only fully capable, but ready to go back-to-back.
