After 17 years, the OKC Thunder won its first NBA championship last season. OKC then brought back all of its rotation players. It also added two rookies in Thomas Sorber and Brooks Barnhizer, and second-year guard Nikola Topić is ready to make his debut after missing all of last season due to a partially torn ACL in his left knee.

That said, ESPN argued that the Thunder have the best shot in years to be a repeat winner. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander just won the MVP award. Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren will continue to get better. The rest of the roster is young enough to also see leaps.