The Oklahoma City Thunder have made the 2023-24 season their coming-out party. Last season, they showed glimpses of the powerhouse they were going to become when they nearly made it into the playoffs as the eight-seed. But this season, they have become a bona fide title contender, thanks to the rapid ascent of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as well as the continued development into stardom from Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren.

Alas, some pundits don't think that the Thunder have a legitimate shot of competing for a title in 2024. Some think that they are too youthful and that they lack the playoff experience to compete with the true big boys. But J-Dub has a simple retort to those who think this way.

“I guess we’ll have to see, huh,” Williams told TNT's Dennis Scott in his postgame interview following the Thunder's 127-113 victory over the Magic.

Indeed, barring an unforeseen disaster, the Thunder will be making it back into the playoffs in just the fourth season after they embarked on a full-scale rebuild. Not only will they be making it back, however, they will do so as a high playoff seed, as they remain in contention for the number-one spot in the loaded Western Conference.

The playoffs may be a different animal and the Thunder have a grand total of two players that have made it past the first round of the playoffs (Gordon Hayward and Bismack Biyombo), but talent always finds a way to rise to the surface in the end. There is certainly a strong chance that the Thunder mount a deep playoff run similar to when OKC began its contending ways back at the start of the 2010s.

That 2010s crew may have had Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden, three future MVPs, this team is more loaded from top to bottom, especially amid Jalen Williams' emergence into a fringe All-Star talent to give Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder a legitimate two-way co-star on the wing.

Williams had 33 points to lead OKC in scoring in their rout of the Magic on Tuesday night, and he's only 22 years old, which means he's only going to get better at basketball from here.