When the current NBA season started, most people expected the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns to be two of the best teams in the West.
Few people thought the Oklahoma City Thunder would be actual playoff contenders.
That conventional wisdom was only strengthened when they lost rookie star Chet Holmgren for the year due to injury.
The Thunder have won 6 of their last 7 with dubs over Pacers, Nets, Bulls, Sixers, Mavs.
It appears they don't want Victor Wembenyama anymore… pic.twitter.com/uhxyaECaJM
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) January 19, 2023
But the Thunder have been quietly accumulating a lot of big wins and building a solid record.
They have actually won six of their last seven games, with victories over the Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, Philadelphia 76ers, and Dallas Mavericks.
That positions them as the 9th team in the West with a 22-23 record.
They are now ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers, Suns, and others.
While this definitely hurts their chance of landing Victor Wembanyama in the upcoming NBA draft, it doesn’t seem to bother the team.
They are being expertly led by players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Luguentz Dort, and more.
These are young men who are driven and fired up and playing incredibly well together.
On Wednesday, they sailed past the Pacers 126-106.
It was yet another impressive triumph for the team and it has many wondering how much higher they can climb.
Next up for the Thunder are the Sacramento Kings, Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Those will obviously be some tough matches but the Thunder have repeatedly proven that they can beat teams who should have the upper hand over them.
The Thunder are currently in the running to make the play-in tournament at the end of the season.
Now the question is if they can clinch a playoff berth over the next few months.
NEXT: An Unheralded NBA Superstar Continues To Shine