Are the Thunder Building the Best Team in NBA History? The Numbers Say Yes
The Oklahoma City Thunder aren’t just winning games - they’re putting together a statistical resume that’s starting to rival the greatest teams the NBA has ever seen. We're talking about the kind of dominance that makes you stop and ask: could this group be the best team in league history?
That’s not hyperbole. That’s math.
Let’s start with a stat that’s long been a gold standard for measuring team dominance: net rating, which combines offensive and defensive efficiency into one tidy number. The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, led by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, posted a +13.4 net rating - best offense, best defense.
Legendary stuff. Fast forward to 2015-16, and the Golden State Warriors - Steph Curry’s 73-win squad - clocked in at +10.7, with the league’s best offense and third-best defense.
This season’s Thunder? They’ve blown past both.
Oklahoma City is currently sitting at a staggering +16.4 net rating. That’s not just best-in-the-league good - that’s best-of-all-time territory.
Second place? Those same ‘96 Bulls.
Third? Last year’s Thunder squad, which posted a +12.8.
So yes, the leap this team has taken is not just impressive - it’s historic.
And they’re doing it on both ends of the floor. The Thunder lead the NBA in defensive rating at 103.4, and they’ve got the individual numbers to back it up.
Six of the top 10 players in net rating wear Thunder blue, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (20.5) and Chet Holmgren (20.4) leading the way. Cason Wallace, Jaylin Williams, Ajay Mitchell, and Isaiah Hartenstein round out the list, giving OKC a defensive core that’s as deep as it is disruptive.
In fact, when you look at the top five defenders in the league this season by individual defensive rating, they’re all Thunder players: Williams, Mitchell, Holmgren, Wallace, and Hartenstein. That’s not a coincidence - that’s a system built on length, discipline, and relentless effort.
Even Steve Kerr, who coached that 73-win Warriors team, sees something special brewing in OKC. “They have great defense, great depth, great coaching,” Kerr said.
“They’ve got Shai. They have everything we had in ‘16.”
That’s high praise from someone who’s been at the helm of one of the greatest teams ever assembled. But what makes the Thunder’s run even more remarkable is that they’ve done it without perfect health.
Unlike the Bulls and Warriors in their record-setting seasons - when Jordan/Pippen and Curry/Thompson played nearly every game - the Thunder have been battling injuries all year. Jalen Williams, one of their two All-Stars alongside Gilgeous-Alexander, missed the first 19 games of the season.
The team still went 18-1 in that stretch, winning by an average of 16.5 points. Since Williams returned, their only loss came in the NBA Cup semifinals - a tight 111-109 game against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs.
Other key contributors like Holmgren and Hartenstein have also missed time. And yet, the Thunder haven’t lost a game this season by more than two points.
That’s resilience. That’s depth.
That’s the kind of thing that separates great teams from historic ones.
Now, with the NBA Cup in the rearview mirror, the Thunder are setting their sights on a different kind of prize: the all-time wins record. Only two teams in NBA history have ever crossed the 70-win threshold - the 1995-96 Bulls and the 2015-16 Warriors. Golden State’s 73-9 mark still stands as the best regular season ever.
But if Oklahoma City keeps up this pace - and stays relatively healthy - they could be in position to challenge that number. Next up? A home matchup against the 6-20 Los Angeles Clippers, a game that looks like another opportunity for the Thunder to keep their momentum rolling.
It’s still early in the season, and championships aren’t handed out for net ratings or December win streaks. But what the Thunder are doing right now isn’t just hot - it’s historic. And if they keep this up, we might not be talking about whether they’re the best team in the league.
We might be talking about whether they’re the best team ever.