Amid the Oklahoma City Thunder's best regular-season start in franchise history, one NBA analyst is calling it the best he's ever seen. After taking in the Thunder's impressive back-to-back wins against the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers at the Paycom Center, Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix is still in awe.
The Thunder's 12-1 start is the best he's ever seen, as Mannix broke down what separates Oklahoma City from the rest, per Open Floor: SI's NBA Show.
“They're 12-1 to start this year. They have the best defense in the NBA by a country mile. They are six points better than the Denver Nuggets, who are sitting in second place in terms of defensive rating. They've got an offensive rating in the top 5 as well. And they're doing all this without the All-Star All-NBA Third Team Jalen Williams, who was outstanding in the playoffs last year,” Mannix said.
“They're doing most of it without one of the best defensive guards in the league, in Lu Dort, who's been out for seven to eight games with an injury. They are the best defense in the world without the most physical defensive wing in the NBA in one of its best, and a guy that was second team All-Defense last year in Jalen Williams.”
Through the hurdles, the Thunder remain dominant with the best record in the NBA, as Chris Mannix noted.
“This is the most impressive start to a season that I have ever seen because of those circumstances,” Mannix added. “I wondered coming in would this team be able to level up. I knew they were going to get better organically, but they have leveled up across the board. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looks a little bit better. Chet Holmgren looks a little bit better. Ajay Mitchell, we talked about him a little bit, looks like the Most Improved Player out of nowhere.”
Can Thunder break Warriors' 73-win record?
The defending champion Thunder are on pace for 73+ wins this season, which would break the 2015-16 Warriors' record for most wins in a regular season. With All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander once again playing at a high level amidst blowout wins, which has led to a league-leading +15.5 point differential, the Thunder is in a good position to win 70+ games.
The extra four wins to set a new NBA record could still be too early to say. However, the blowout wins have been nice for Gilgeous-Alexander, who preserves his energy on the bench throughout the fourth quarter. Yet, still, he's scored 30+ points in 11 of 13 games.
