Rick Carlisle Calls OKC Thunder the ‘Best Team on the Planet’

Indiana’s head coach had high praise for Oklahoma City after squaring off.

Mar 29, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) goes up for a dunk against the Indiana Pacers during the second quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City has been a force of nature all season long, and as the season comes to a close, this team appears to be fully hitting its stride. At points across the season, the Thunder relied on elite defense and highly efficient offense — but until the All Star break, it was rare to see those two things in action at the same time.

Now, the Thunder’s historic defense has been complemented by an unstoppable offense, and it’s simply not fun for opponents to play against. Oklahoma City is within reach of setting a new NBA record for point differential on average per game. Currently, the Thunder are outscoring opponents by 13.2 points per game. Second in the Western Conference is the Rockets, outscoring opponents by 4.5 points a game.

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Playing the Thunder can be maddening for opponents. To beat them, you can’t let your guard down for all 48 minutes. Oklahoma City is capable of going on unbelievable swift runs — both offensively and defensively — and can change the script of the game almost immediately. 

After a blowout win against Indiana — in a game that was close for quite awhile — Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle saw firsthand how loaded this rotation is. And adding insult to injury, Oklahoma City was without a handful of key contributors, including Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein.

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— 𝐙 (@homahoops) March 30, 2025

“These are things where you key in on these very small details,“ Carlisle explained. “And if you can’t be on point from the beginning of the game until the end, it’s just extremely difficult. 

“I mean this team is the best team on the planet right now. The numbers say it, the record says it, the whole thing. And so you cannot have any lags, and we had too many.”

Oklahoma City’s 62-12 record backs up Carlisle’s statement: This is the best team in the world right now. Winners of eight straight games, this Thunder team is peaking at the perfect time.

As the team understands, though, the games start to really matter in two weeks. All eyes are on the postseason now. Oklahoma City’s task at hand is finding success in the playoffs like they have been able to find in the regular season.

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