Stiles Points: OKC Thunder Are In The Good Ol' Days, Enjoy Them

The Oklahoma City Thunder will put a bow on a historic season, enjoy it.

Apr 4, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) warms up prior to the game against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images / Erik Williams-Imagn Images

Sunday's game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and New Orleans Pelicans has fewer stakes than a pickup game at your local YMCA. The Thunder have clinched everything they have ever dreamed up in the regular season and the Pelicans have the fourth-best lottery odds on ice.

Still, it is another chance to watch the 2024-25 Oklahoma City Thunder and the last time that a game will not include heart-pounding intensity.

Before the hoopla, narratives, jubilance and heartbreak of the NBA Playoffs gets underway next weekend, it is important to take a step back and have some perspective.

Oklahoma City has won a franchise-best 67 games entering Sunday, the most in franchise history and just the second time the Thunder have won 60-plus games. OKC has won the most double-digit games in NBA history, they own the league's best record, and they have the best point differential in NBA history.

For as rough and tumble as the Western Conference is –– and look no further than all the scenarios that can alter the bracket on Sunday afternoon –– the Thunder have lapped the field in the conference, sitting 15 games clear of the No. 2 seed. That just doesn't happen.

The Thunder should hand out its third MVP award in the coming weeks to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. After Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook each bagged the honor, it was a tough sell that the team would get back to that level. After all, look at all the other franchises who would kill for one MVP or one season like this, much less two sustained eras.

Gilgeous-Alexander finishes with the scoring title (32.7 points per game), which is the most points per game in Thunder history. The superstar has the most 20, 30, 40 and 50-point games in the league this season and has scored 20-plus points in 72 straight games. Seasons like this do not grow on trees, players like this are hard to acquire and once again this caliber of player wears Oklahoma City across his chest.

The Thunder own the deepest team in the league, they have a rare bond with one another and the fan base, they produce on the court each night and have one of the best coaches pacing the sidelines. Oh yeah, Its all headed up by the best executive in the sport.

For the second straight season the Thunder are the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference despite its youth. This year's club is the second youngest roster to accomplish this feat only behind last year's squad.

While every waits with bated breath on what the Thunder's postseason fate will be, it is as important to acknowledged what they have already accomplished.

Do not let the rat poisoning of ring culture cloud your judgment. At the end of the day, this is an entertainment product. It is a reality television show with stakes and storylines. The things you remember as a basketball observer aren't just hoisting the Larry O'Brein trophy. Only one team gets to do that each year.

The happiness and unbrideled joy often come in the games that talking heads look down on from an ivory tower and cast off as meaningless. In the journey. In the fellowship of following a team 82 nights a year and seeing the highs and lows of the season –– Well, not many lows in this season, but you get the point.

This is not the end of the Thunder's journey, it is just the beginning. One day, in the distant future, it will end. Do not look back on this season or future ones with regret. The feeling of not appreciating it enough in the moment.

These are the good ol' day for the OKC Thunder. Enjoy them. There is plenty of time to fret the future.

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