Cavaliers Star Donovan Mitchell Pegs OKC Thunder as Western Conference Champions

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been picked by many to win the Western Conference, including NBA star Donovan Mitchell.

Oct 27, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) moves against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) in the third quarter at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder are the popular pick to make it out of the Western Conference. After rattling off 57 wins a year ago, the Thunder went out an upgraded their fifth starter spot, addressed their biggest area of weakness in free agency and drafted another group of interesting youngsters.

As Sam Presti brings in defensive ace Alex Caruso in place of Josh Giddey who is now in Chicago, it represents a massive upgrade to the Thunder's style of play. A 40 percent 3-point shooter who can defend four of the five positions on the floor at an extremely high level and even grab the center in a pinch.

Inking Isaiah Hartenstein to the biggest free agent signing in franchise history is the representation of a win-now era as the Thunder are a roster that is fit for a championship so long as Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams take the necessary steps forward.

As FanDuel puts the OKC Thunder as the odds-on favorite to win the West, in a recent podcast interview Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell tabbed the Thunder and Minnesota as the top teams out West, raving about Oklahoma City's offseason additions on the Million Dollarz Worth of Game Podcast.

“I would say it’s probably [going to be] Minnesota or OKC...OKC adding Alex Caruso, I don’t think people really understand what that does for that lineup. You’ve already got [Cason] Wallace over there, you’ve got Lu Dort, Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander]’s not a bad defender himself. You add Alex Caruso to that lineup, he is a winner too. I am a big Alex Caruso fan. I think they got a good squad over there,” Mitchell said.

This is high praise from an NBA star who has been around the game and matched up with the best squads. Oklahoma City has seen its expectations change quite a bit with this summer of moves - now being tasked with contention, something they are not shying away from.

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