Most of us didn't expect much from the Oklahoma City Thunder after trading away superstars Russell Westbrook and Paul George in the offseason. Both fans and pundits alike felt that the Oklahoma City Thunder were destined to struggle in the 2019-20 NBA campaign.

But lo and behold, the new-look OKC unit currently holds the 5th spot in the stacked Western Conference and are tied with Westbrook's new team Houston Rockets with a 40-24 slate.

Thunder coach Billy Donovan recently opened up about why his seemingly under-powered team managed to defy all expectations so far. Per Logan Newman of Thunder Wire/USA Today:

“I don’t know if you can ever be a great team without great togetherness,” Donovan said. “You’ve gotta have talent, you’ve gotta have good players, they’ve gotta play together, but when you have a team that’s connected, and they’re willing to play for each other, they’re willing to play with each other, that is really, really, really what I think allows you to become a really good, quality team.”

A big part of OKC's success is the rejuvenated play of 10-time All-Star Chris Paul.

After hearing murmurs of him being washed-up, CP3 got himself acclimated to his new team and averaged 17.7 points on 48.9 percent shooting from the field and 36.2 percent from downtown, to go along with 4.9 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 1.6 steals in 63 games.

Paul also took the young Shai Gilgeous-Alexander under his wing, as the 22-year-old stud emerged as the team's next star. He tallied 19.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.1 steals prior to the hiatus.

Billy Donovan, on the other hand, is extremely proud of what his guys have accomplished as a team so far. Still, he understands the team must work on a lot of things to be able to hang with the top teams in the West.

“I still think the execution piece, and the timing and all those kind of things are something that we gotta continue to get better at,” he said. “But I’ve been really encouraged by the group because they have done a great job of working together, bringing energy every single day, playing for one another and trying to help one another.”