For the past few days, we’ve been looking at Eastern Conference teams that have the best chance to defeat the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. It’s time now to look at the Western Conference teams that are the biggest threats to the Warriors’ three-peat hopes.

One of these teams is the Oklahoma City Thunder who have a lot of confidence and are a more complete team than last year. This time, the Thunder are as cohesive as any team in the league and the players have an understanding of their roles that was lacking in recent years.

When the playoffs start, expect the Thunder to be one of the most laser-focused teams as they seek to win their first title since the franchise was located in Seattle.

Let me roll out three reasons why the Thunder are good enough to dethrone the Warriors:

3. The Thunder’s Stars are Playing at an MVP Level

Russell Westbrook and Paul George are having a ball this season after the departure of Carmelo Anthony last summer. It all starts with Westbrook who has given the keys to shoot to his fellow All-Star who is one of the top three candidates for MVP this season. Russ knows that he can best serve the team as a facilitator especially now that he’s shooting poorly from the field. Even so, the 2017 MVP is still the team’s leader and is averaging a triple-double (22.4 points, 11.2 rebounds, 10.8 assists with 2.1 steals a game) for the third straight year.

George has elevated his game to MVP levels after a strong showing in February that had him scoring 35.0 points per contest. His season averages of 28.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.3 steals are all career highs. He’s also shooting 39.8 percent from downtown and 84.4 percent from the line.

In short, George is playing the best season of his career and had it not been for his injured shoulder, he could have continued his offensive onslaught and perhaps make a late run for the Maurice Podoloff trophy as the league’s best player this year.

The Warriors may have the defenders to shadow both Westbrook and George, but these two look as unstoppable as any duo. Besides, it’s not like the Thunder are lacking in firepower everywhere else.

2. Defensive Studs

To beat the Warriors, your defense has to be excellent and the Thunder have the right personnel to stop them. Westbrook and George are not only their best players, but they are the team’s best defensive players as well. That’s just for starters.

There are defenders at almost every stop when you talk about OKC. Steven Adams, Jerami Grant, Dennis Schroder, Markieff  Morris, Terrance Ferguson and Andre Roberson (more on him later) are above average to excellent defenders who can help derail the Warriors’ vaunted offense.

Former NBA player and now ESPN analyst Jalen Rose spoke on an episode of “Get Up” last January about how difficult the road will be for the Warriors if they face the Thunder in the playoffs. It’s no surprise that he focused on their defense than anything else.

“When they play against Oklahoma, Russell and Paul George,” Rose said. “You know what they’re gonna be doing? Putting Boogie in pick-and-rolls every time. So that’s how you are gonna try to combat the Warriors being able to shoot the basketball the way they can.

“Defensively, the Oklahoma City Thunder, in particular, have great length. We just said yesterday, how many shots did they block of the Greek Freak? So, they have the guy down low in Adams that can be an anchor to make Draymond and Boogie work as well and they have multiple people that can switch on the perimeter.”

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The Thunder are 1st in steals, 1st in opponents turnovers, 2nd in rebounds, 5th in defensive rating and 7th in point differential. As good as the Warriors’ offense may be, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins can be contained by a team with length and athleticism. A defense as stingy as the Thunder’s can keep the Dubs from running up the score and making it more difficult for them to get to their sweet spots.

For the first time in years, Westbrook has a team that is as scrappy as he is, one that’s good enough to take down the mighty Warriors, perhaps.

1. Team Chemistry

One of the most significant differences in this year’s Thunder team is team chemistry. It’s what makes the superstar-less teams like the Indiana Pacers and New Jersey Nets so dangerous and why they keep winning against teams with one or two superstars, or even multiple All-Stars. Similarly, the Thunder are better than the sum of their collective parts.

In an interview with Raymond Felton through Sam Gannon of Fox 25 in Oklahoma City (as noted by USA Today’s Cody Taylor), the veteran point guard shared how special this Thunder team is compared to his previous teams.

“The chemistry is probably one of the best I’ve ever seen,” Felton said. “Everybody likes each other. It’s like a brotherhood. It’s like we are a family. We have each other’s back on and off of the court and that’s hard to find.

“When you got your two superstars on your team that’s connected the way that they are — [they] are like brothers. With those two at that level where they are connected with each other like that, it’s easy for everybody else to follow suit and that’s really big. Their relationship kind of just trickles down to everybody else.”

OKC has players who know their roles and they’re good at them. They understand that this is Westbrook’s team, George is second-in-command and everyone else follows suit. Adams, Schroder and Grant recognize their strengths and what they bring to the table. They also have Nerlens Noel and Morris, two big men who bring different but necessary contributions to the table.

Ferguson is turning out to be quite the 3-and-D player despite his recent struggles. There’s Felton whose leadership in the locker room is more valuable than any stats he puts up on any given night. Finally, the Thunder are still awaiting the return of Roberson this season and they are hopeful he can play his first game with them before the playoffs arrive. He’s another long and athletic player that they can use to derail the Warriors’ plethora of scorers.

When these guys take the floor, they have a confidence about them that was lacking the previous two years. It’s a team that the Warriors will have to be wary about if they meet each other in the playoffs.