Is a 70-Win Season Realistic for OKC Thunder?

The Oklahoma City Thunder is on pace for a rare feat of a 70-win season, but the likelihood of it coming to fruition is up for debate.
Jan 8, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, right, is introduced before the game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Thunder at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Jan 8, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, right, is introduced before the game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Thunder at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
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Only two teams in NBA history have reached the 70-win mark in NBA history: the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls and the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors.

As rare of an accomplishment as it is, both the Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers were on pace for 70-plus win campaigns in 2025 when the best two teams in the league went head-to-head on Jan. 8.

Being on pace for a 70-win season doesn't mean it's actually going to come true in April — there are still over half the games left on the calendar to be played, and plenty of things can go wrong in between. However, with both teams dominating their respective conferences as much as they have, the possibility of it happening for the third or fourth time in NBA history is much higher than in most years.

Oklahoma City currently has a 33-6 record with a commanding lead at the top of the West, and its only other loss came in the NBA Cup Final against the Milwaukee Bucks. Its defense ranks among the dominant forces of the 90s Bulls and 60s Boston Celtics, while MVP frontrunner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads its offensive gameplan.

The Thunder has accomplished this in the first half of the season with only 10 appearances from its defensive anchor and top scorer, Chet Holmgren, who suffered a pelvic fracture in November. Losing a player of his status would significantly hurt the record of most teams, but its completeness has allowed it to keep winning without him.

The estimated return date of 8-10 weeks is coming to a close for Holmgren soon, so by the All-Star break, it's possible that Oklahoma City is largely a healthy team. Adding him back to the lineup only makes it stronger and in a better position to win games, so who's to say the same win pace doesn't continue until the end of the season?

It'd still be incredibly difficult for the Thunder to maintain that pace with Holmgren, especially if it still has a big lead at the No. 1 seed and decides to rest its star players close to the playoffs. Disappointing losses are bound to happen, and new injuries could appear when it least expects it.

Winning 70 games is a somewhat realistic possibility for both Oklahoma City and Cleveland, but it isn't the most likely outcome for either side. However, two teams being in this position at the same time is rare enough.

Maybe that rarity pays off into some newly made history.


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Chase Gemes
CHASE GEMES

Chase is a junior at the University of Missouri studying journalism. He is a football and men’s basketball reporter for Missouri on SI.