ESPN Ranks OKC Thunder Young Trio Among Top of the NBA

The Oklahoma City Thunder have one of the best cores in the NBA and the ESPN NBA team has tabbed them as the best core for the future of the league.

Oct 25, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2), forward Chet Holmgren (7), forward Jalen Williams (8), guard Luguentz Dort (5) and guard Josh Giddey (3) walk on the court during the second half of a basketball game against the Chicago Bulls at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Tim Bontemps went through and ranked every three-man core in the NBA through the lens of the future while also balancing the current day. In an interesting exercise that tiered off NBA teams, the Oklahoma City Thunder took their usual spot.

The OKC Thunder check in at No. 2 lagging behind the Boston Celtics. Bontemps laid out his case for the Thunder to take a top-two spot.

"Even with their stacked roster, the Thunder have a clear top three of Gilgeous-Alexander, a bona fide MVP candidate, plus two of the best talents on rookie-scale contract talents in Williams on the wing and Holmgren in the middle. It has been more than 12 years since the end of the Kevin Durant-Russell Westbrook-James Harden troika in OKC; this group might be the league's best young core since then and should be together for at least the rest of the decade," Bontemps said.

This high prase still was not enough to volt the Thunder past the Boston Celtics who Bontemps tabs their trio as Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Derrick White.

"The defending champion Celtics are one of several teams that could feature options beyond the three listed, given the roster also includes former All-Stars Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. Ultimately, though, this is a team built around the talents of Tatum and Brown on the wing, and White, 30, is the longer-term answer at point guard. Despite the potential financial cliff coming next summer, Tatum, Brown and White should be the basis of a contender in Boston for years to come," The ESPN scribe said.

Oklahoma City has a shot to contend for a title this year even as they try to navigate through poor injury luck. The Thunder are hoping to be healthy for their second playoff push as a team and if they are, they have a great shot at taking it all this year. Not to mention their bright future ahead which solidifies their top-two spot.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Thunder on SI on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.