It has been a remarkable first 30 games of the 2024-25 season for the Oklahoma City Thunder. After Saturday’s 106-94 victory over the Charlotte Hornets, the Thunder possess a 25-5 record. That is tops in the Western Conference, and just 1.5 games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for best record in the league.
While there’s still a lot of games to go in the regular season, 52 to be exact, Oklahoma City is on pace to finish approximately 68-14 on the year. That would be the best record in the franchise’s 58-year history, including their time as the Seattle SuperSonics.
Thunder Looking For Best Regular Season In Franchise History
Thunder Franchise History Also Includes Seattle SuperSonics
From 1967-68 until 2007-08, the franchise was known as the Seattle SuperSonics. Since 2008-09, they have been the Oklahoma City Thunder. Accounting for both of their histories, the best record that the franchise has ever had came in 1995-96. Those Seattle SuperSonics were 64-18. Their best record since being known as the Thunder came in 2012-13, when they finished 60-22.
That Seattle team was led by Hall of Fame point guard Gary Payton, ‘The Reignman’ Shawn Kemp, and Hall of Fame coach George Karl. They reached the NBA Finals, but fell to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in six games.
The franchise has won one NBA championship which came back in the 1978-79 season. That year, they went 52-30 in the regular season. With Hall of Fame head coach Lenny Wilkens at the helm, they defeated the Washington Bullets in five games in the 1979 NBA Finals.
The SuperSonics had lost in the NBA Finals in the previous season. The Thunder have reached the NBA Finals once. That came in the 2011-12 season where they were defeated by the Miami Heat in five games.
Current Thunder Are Dominating As They Look For Their Best Regular Season Ever
With Saturday’s victory over the Hornets, the Thunder have now won each of their last 10 contests. That has been even more impressive being that they have been without young phenom Chet Holmgren during that whole stretch.
Their most recent loss came all the way back on December 1 on the road against the Houston Rockets. That defeat came by just three points. Four of their five losses came by no more than six points, with the biggest margin coming in an 11-point loss to the Golden State Warriors on November 10.
On average, the Thunder are outscoring their opponents by 11.7 points per outing. That is tied with the Cavaliers for the best mark in the NBA. They are currently eighth in offensive rating and lead the league in defensive rating.
After finishing as the runner-up for MVP last season, and fifth in 2022-23, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is again among the top contenders for the award. In his 30 contests, the 26-year-old is posting averages of 30.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.1 blocks. He is second in the league in scoring average only behind Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Oklahoma City will look for their 11th straight win on Sunday night when they take on the Memphis Grizzlies at home. They have won five straight at home with their last loss at the Paycom Center coming on November 17 to the Dallas Mavericks.
