Vecenie: OKC Thunder 'Have a Very Real Shot' at Winning NBA Title in 2024-25

After an impressive 2023-24 campaign, Oklahoma City bolstered its roster over the offseason and appears to be even more formidable in the upcoming NBA season.

May 11, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

After winning 57 games last season, the Oklahoma City somehow got even better over the offseason.

Led by a young core of up-and-coming stars like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, the Thunder took the NBA by storm and earned the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference before becoming the youngest team in league history to win a playoff series.

Following their first-round win, the Thunder fell to the Dallas Mavericks, with OKC's lack of size and playoff experience notably affecting the team in their matchup with the Western Conference champs.

To address these concerns, Sam Presti and company traded for Alex Caruso and singed Isaiah Hartenstein over the offseason. With the two additions, Oklahoma City is right behind the Boston Celtics as favorites to win an NBA title in 2024-25.

On a recent podcast episode, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic laid out what he believes will need to happen for Mark Daigneault's team to bring the first Larry O'Brien Trophy to the Modern Frontier.

"They should be going to try and win a title this year," Vecenie said. "How they do that and achieve that goal is twofold to me. (First), Chet (Holmgren), (Jalen Williams), Cason (Wallace), do those guys take a leap. If those three guys take a leap, they have a very real shot, and I would expect all three of those guys to take a leap this year, for what its worth. I think all three are very driven, I think all three are very talented players. ... The second one is how quickly do they figure out (Isaiah) Hartenstein's addition, and what does that look like it Chet sometimes slides to the four?"

After Holmgren averaged 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.3 blocks per game, seeing the reigning Rookie of the Year runner up take another leap forward would be extremely impressive. Similarly, Williams averaged 19.1 points, 4.5 assists and four rebounds per game and would enter All-Star conversations if he were to take another leap in his third professional season.

Wallace has the most room for statistical improvement after putting up 6.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 assits per game as a rookie. Still, the young guard was an outstanding perimeter defender and solid shooter during his first year in the league.

If Wallace is able to showcase more of the ball-handling and playmaking skills he displayed in high school and college, the Thunder will be even better than expected in 2024-25.

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