Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley made their stances on the upcoming playoff series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets very clear.

They witnessed the Nuggets dominate the Los Angeles Clippers 120-101 in Game 7 of the West First Round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs. This allowed Denver to advance to the West Semis, where they will face the top seed in the conference.

O'Neal and Barkley stood on different sides when it comes to the better team. The former went with the championship pedigree of Denver, while the latter chose Oklahoma City because they have better bench production.

“Both teams are similar to the point that if you start messing around helping out on the main guy, he gets rid of it, you know, SGA gets rid of it. To one of my favorite players, J-Dub (Jalen Williams) and all the others, Chet shooting from the 3-point line. Denver, you know, as we saw tonight, Joker did not have a great game, but he was looking for everybody. So they're similar, but I'm leaning towards Denver,” O'Neal said.

“I have not seen anything in the Western Conference that make me think anybody can beat OKC. And I think the difference is you're going to see this for the first time. Denver has not done anything with the bench. Oklahoma City probably has the best bench in the NBA. I think that's going to be a huge difference this series,” Barkley replied.

How Nuggets match up against Thunder

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The series between the Thunder and Nuggets will be an intriguing one due to the stars both sides possess.

Oklahoma City is having their best season in franchise history after winning 68 games in the regular season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is in the MVP conversation, Jalen Williams earned an All-Star selection, while Chet Holmgren cemented himself as an excellent big man on the squad.

On the other side, Denver boasts the experienced championship core of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and Michael Porter Jr. While the Nuggets no longer have the bench they once had that allowed them to win the 2023 title, the Thunder should not overlook their potent offense if all the stars produce.

The regular-season series saw both teams take two of the four total matchups. Oklahoma City had a total winning margin of 24 points, blowing out Denver twice. Offense will be the deciding factor in who comes out on top and moves on to the West Finals.

Game 1 between the Thunder and Nuggets will take place on May 5 at 9:30 p.m. ET.