The Oklahoma City Thunder are now NBA champions, and all players are studying them and discussing how they achieved such success.
Payton Pritchard recently spoke about the Thunder and said they played a very aggressive and physical form of basketball in order to earn their title.
“When you see OKC, who won the championship, they get away with a lot of hands, fouls, physicality, stuff like that. The NBA, in the playoffs, is allowing a lot more physicality,” Pritchard said.
Payton Pritchard says the Thunder got away with a lot of fouls in the playoffs
“When you see OKC, who won the championship, they get away with a lot of hands, fouls, physicality, stuff like that. The NBA, in the playoffs, is allowing a lot more physicality.”
(Via @CelticsCLNS… pic.twitter.com/1PI0XLaTTe
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 4, 2025
If the league really is allowing more physicality, like Pritchard said, does that mean his Boston Celtics are going to play a tougher style in the new year?
The Celtics weren’t happy with how the season ended last year, and things have only gotten tougher during the summer.
They lost Jayson Tatum to an injury during the playoffs, and he will likely be gone for all of 2025-26.
But then they parted ways with Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis.
This team is going to look very different in the new season, and their remaining players will need to step up in order to find success.
Pritchard is coming off his best season yet, averaging 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists off the bench.
His intense style and defense earned him Sixth Man of the Year, and he wants to bring that same energy to the new season.
The Thunder are the league’s biggest success story in years.
They have done everything in their power to reach this point, and they have created a blueprint that other teams will try to follow.
There is a chance that the league is about to enter a very intense, physical chapter thanks to OKC’s championship run.
NEXT: Celtics Assistant Coach Gets Honest About Team's Goal This Season
