Inside The Thunder

OKC Thunder Clinch No. 1 Seed in Western Conference

The Thunder continue to add to their impressive season.

Ivan White

Mar 16, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) celebrates with guard Isaiah Joe (11) after score in the fourth quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
Mar 16, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) celebrates with guard Isaiah Joe (11) after score in the fourth quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images / Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
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Oklahoma City has been among the best teams in the league this season and is officially the best in the West.

The Thunder clinched the Northwest Division title on Wednesday following their short-handed smacking of the Philadelphia 76ers. After earning that honor for the second straight year, the Thunder also went back-to-back as the West’s top seed. The Thunder clinched that honor without needing to play, with the Los Angeles Lakers blowout loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday ensuring the Thunder’s spot at No. 1.

Of course, the Thunder know just as well as any team that having the top seed doesn’t guarantee anything come playoff time. Last season, the Thunder’s status as the top seed helped them earn a first-round sweep before falling to the No. 5 seed Dallas Mavericks in the second round. Despite having home-court advantage throughout the Western Conference side of the bracket, the Thunder simply couldn’t take advantage of the situation.

While Dallas won’t be a problem for Oklahoma City this season after making the most surprising trade in league history, the Thunder still have other hot teams to watch out for. The playoffs are all about matchups, and the Thunder could face various different teams in every round with such little space separating teams in the West. 

A team currently in the mix to be a first-round opponent for the Thunder could easily be in Oklahoma City for the Western Conference Finals. While there are so many solid teams below the Thunder, none have proven to be able to challenge for the top spot out West.

At 57-12, the Thunder’s only competition by record is in the East. After it seemed the Cleveland Cavaliers could start gaining some separation for the top overall record, their 16-game winning streak was snapped and soon became a three-game losing streak to push them to 56-13.

Of course, there is no guarantee the Thunder will make the Finals or face the Cavaliers in that series, but potentially owning home-court advantage throughout the entire playoffs would be massive. The Thunder just clinched the top seed in the West for the third time in team history, but Oklahoma City could also soon own the best record in the league for the first time.

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Ivan White
IVAN WHITE

Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered the OKC Thunder since 2022 and covers OSU athletics for The O’Colly.

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