As with many championship teams, the Oklahoma City Thunder will be running it back with the same group that won the franchise’s first title this season.
Free agency has begun, and some teams out West have improved. Right now, there’s a three-team race for the West’s crown next season, and then there’s a gap for everyone else.
Here are our rankings for teams in the West that can spoil Oklahoma City’s chances to repeat.
The Thunder’s Biggest Threats in 2025-26
1. Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets were the only team in the West that stifled the Thunder at all, as they pushed them to seven games in their second-round matchup. Luguentz Dort even admitted the Nuggets scared them a bit.
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At the beginning of free agency, the Nuggets traded Michael Porter Jr. and an unprotected 2032 first-round pick in exchange for Cam Johnson. Johnson makes a lot of 3s on a high amount of attempts, as he is a 39% three-point shooter over his career.
The two-man game between Johnson and Jokic should be a good one, as Johnson will have plenty of wide-open threes thanks to the attention of Jokic.
Bruce Brown Jr. has returned, too. He was a key part of Denver’s title run, and having played alongside Nikola Jokic, he will undoubtedly provide the Nuggets with a much-needed defensive jolt.
On top of that, Tim Hardaway Jr. reportedly signed with the Nuggets on July 1. Yet another solid depth piece who played a significant role in the Pistons’ resurgence this past season.
There is some flux with one of their offseason moves, however, as recent acquisition Jonas Valanciunas is reportedly hoping to go to Greece instead of the NBA.
If Valanciunas ends up playing overseas, the Nuggets could pivot to someone like Al Horford. They also have rookie DaRon Holmes, who missed all of last season with an Achilles injury.
The Nuggets, who arguably had only 5.5 rotation players in last year’s playoff run, upgraded from MPJ and significantly improved their bench. Along with having the best player in the world, the Nuggets are the biggest threat to the Thunder repeating as champions.
2. Houston Rockets
The Rockets managed to retain all significant assets when trading for Kevin Durant, acquiring a picture-perfect solution to their biggest weakness last season (a lack of a scoring punch and consistent threat) while not losing their draft picks or best young players in return.
But they didn’t stop there. The Rockets inked Dorian Finney-Smith to a four-year, $53 million deal and acquired Clint Capela to a three-year, $21.5 million deal for big man depth.
Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith Jr., and Jae’Sean Tate also re-signed, giving Houston a much deeper and more versatile roster that now boasts a legitimate scoring punch, along with very high defensive potential.
The Rockets gave OKC fits in their regular-season matchups and will be a much more formidable threat in ending a repeat bid early.
The Nuggets and Rockets each handed the Thunder a pair of losses in the 2024-25 regular season, with the Nuggets pushing OKC to the edge in the postseason. Both teams improved, but it’s safe to assume internal development will continue for OKC as well.
Injuries, complacency, the greed of wanting more, a half-court offense, and poor shooting can all contribute to OKC’s inability to repeat. However, the growth of these two teams, in particular, and the internal development that will occur within the building will make for a very entertaining postseason.
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