The NBA is back, and this year Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder go from the hunter to the hunted after their incredible season which led to the franchise's first championship since its Seattle days (miss you, SuperSonics).
Gilgeous-Alexander's first MVP season saw him score 32.7 points per game, a career high and his third year in a row averaging 30 or more a night. He dropped 50 points in a game for the first time in his career last season and proceeded to reach the feat four times over the regular season, while no other player had more than two 50-point games (Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokić).
His incredible season would have been all for nothing without his young and star-studded supporting cast, including the Robin to SGA's Batman in Jalen Williams. Coming off a 40-point performance in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, Williams inked a five-year rookie maximum contract extension. Star center Chet Holmgren signed a five-year rookie max, too, locking down the Thunder's young core for years to come.
Every offseason provides a chance to reset and reload, though, and plenty of teams have done just that in hopes of stopping OKC from going back to back. Ahead of the 2025-26 season, here are four teams who are the biggest threat to dethrone the Thunder and call themselves NBA champions when all is said and done:
Denver Nuggets
- 2024-25 regular-season record: 50-32
- Playoff results: Lost to Thunder in Western Conference semifinals (seven games)
The Thunder's biggest threat in their quest to repeat as NBA champs may just be in their own conference. The Nuggets took Oklahoma City to seven games in the second round last season and have only gotten better since, notably acquiring Cam Johnson from the Nets while sending away Michael Porter Jr.’s contract, giving Denver even more flexibility to improve their roster down the line.
They brought back Bruce Brown, a key piece of their championship team two years ago, and signed Tim Hardaway Jr. as a veteran backup guard while he chases a title after a strong season in Detroit. Jonas Valančiūnas comes to Denver in support of Nikola Jokić and can even play heavy minutes should the three-time MVP need an extended breather.
Jokić alone gives the Nuggets a shot to make a run at the title and he may have the best roster around him yet.
New York Knicks
- 2024-25 regular-season record: 51-31
- Playoff results: Lost to Pacers in Eastern Conference finals (six games)
Is this the year the Knicks break through?
Last year, they made a run to the Eastern Conference finals for the franchise's first appearance since 2000. Although New York took a step forward, they decided to part ways with head coach Tom Thibodeau after five seasons. Mike Brown takes over for the Knicks after his mid-season firing by the Kings last year. Roster wise, New York's core of Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges remains intact. They inked Bridges to a massive four-year extension to keep him with the Knicks through the end of the decade.
Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele arrive as depth pieces, and Mitchell Robinson appears to be healthy with a plan to stay on the court ahead of the season. The Knicks are a top contender to come out of the East yet again—we'll see if Brown's management of New York's stars helps the team break through to the NBA Finals.
Cleveland Cavaliers
- 2024-25 regular-season record: 64-18
- Playoff results: Lost to Pacers in Eastern Conference semifinals (five games)
The Cavs were another victim of the Pacers' magical run to Game 7 of the NBA Finals last year, but Cleveland had a strong first season under Kenny Atkinson, who won the NBA's Coach of the Year award. They started the 2024-25 season with a whopping 15 wins in a row, eventually earning the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed with 64 wins on the year. That's the franchise's highest win total since they had a guy named LeBron James lead the Cavs to 66 wins in '09, his first MVP season.
This next great era of Cleveland basketball is led by their core of Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen. They brought in De'Andre Hunter at last year's trade deadline and dealt for Lonzo Ball over the offseason to bring depth to their guard room with the departure of Ty Jerome. With Mobley getting better by the year and the duo of Mitchell and Garland continuing to light it up offensively, the Cavs have title aspirations once again in a wide open Eastern Conference.
Houston Rockets
- 2024-25 regular-season record: 52-30
- Playoff results: Lost to Warriors in first round (seven games)
Fred VanVleet's torn right ACL suffered during an offseason team workout is a big blow for the Rockets. However, Houston still has the makeup to push for the title this year with the addition of Kevin Durant. There may be some wonky games to start as they figure out who's going to take the lead guard responsibilities without VanVleet. Amen Thompson is the likely candidate after his superb year two. He's a budding star in this league, plus being able to lean on one of the best offensive players of all time helps.
Although the Rockets were ousted in the first round last year, they should expect another leap from their young stars in Thompson and Alperen Şengün. Add Durant into the mix and you can't ignore last year's No. 2 seed as a contender in the Western Conference, even without VanVleet. Maybe last year's No. 3 pick Reed Sheppard will make an impact with more guard minutes to go around, too.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Four Biggest Threats to Stop Thunder From Repeating As NBA Champions.