Oklahoma City Thunder Hoping to Rewrite the History Books with Back-to-Back NBA Titles

NBA championships are like buses: you wait an eternity for one to come along, and then another arrives straight after. That will be the hope of the Oklahoma City Thunder anyway, who landed their maiden NBA title at the end of an epic 2024-25 season.

Yes, they lifted the trophy as the Seattle SuperSonics back in 1979, but in their present guise, the Thunder had to wait nearly two decades to finally enjoy the NBA’s ultimate glory. The history books suggest that first-time NBA champions don’t always fare so well next time out, but Oklahoma’s 11-1 start to 2025-26 suggests they’re ready to start a new chapter of success.

Repeat the Feat

The sportsbooks are certainly happy to forget their history lessons. Those placing a sports bet on the NBA Finals will find that the Thunder are the current 9/5 favourites to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy in 2026, ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers (6/1), Denver Nuggets (13/2) and New York Knicks (10/1). Many a sports betting blog is bullish about the chances of Oklahoma, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander once again looking to be an outstanding MVP candidate.

With the 7ft giant Isaiah Hartenstein once again proving to be a rebounding beast at both ends of the court, the Thunder have key pieces of last season’s successes firing. But the challenge of successfully defending an NBA championship should not be underestimated, with only one franchise – the Golden State Warriors in 2017-18 – able to accomplish that feat in the past decade.

And the difficulty ramps up a few notches for ‘first time’ champions, too. In the modern era, only three maiden winners – Detroit Pistons (1989-90), Chicago Bulls (1991-92) and the Houston Rockets (1994-95) – have been able to do so, with a three-decade drought since the Rockets prevailed in 1995.

As if beating elite rivals out on the court wasn’t tough enough, Oklahoma also has the weight of history to shoulder the burden of.

Getting Better and Better

It’s much easier to win the NBA’s regular season MVP award two seasons in a row though… especially for first timers. Since 2016, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic have all been crowned the most valuable player in successive seasons – each of them landing maiden MVP honours in the first year.

So you can perhaps see why Gilgeous-Alexander has been installed as the favourite for the 2025-26 edition, given that he looks to be hitting new heights already this term. The 27-year-old achieved all manner of great things in 2024-25, from becoming only the ninth player in NBA history to score 50+ points three times in a seven-game span to breaking new ground as the first Canadian to win the season-long point scoring title.

Gilgeous-Alexander was the focal point of the Thunder’s outstanding 68-14 campaign; hence why he was crowned seasonal MVP. He then repeated the dose in the Finals, becoming only the fourth player – after Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon and Kobe Bryant, no less – to win regular season and Finals MVP, as well as the scoring leader title, in the same season.

Here’s the thing: after eleven rounds of the current season, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 33.2 points per game – better than his award-winning campaign last year. That number may drop in the weeks and months ahead, but right now Gilgeous-Alexander is on course to beat his own personal best… at which point, MVP honours would surely be assured once more.