Can the Thunder win an NBA-record 74 games? Here's how Oklahoma City is pacing compared to the 73-win Warriors and 72-win Bulls.
Fresh off of winning the franchise's first NBA championship this past season, the Thunder have loudly kickstarted its 2025-26 title defense by winning 21 of its first 22 games played, including 13 straight entering play on Friday.
Oklahoma City's red-hot start has basketball fans wondering—besides the question if they'll ever lose again—if the defending champions can best either the 72-win Chicago Bulls of 1995-96 or the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, who won a record 73 games in the regular season.By winning 21 of its first 22 games, the Thunder became just the third team to record such a start or better, joining the legendary Bulls and record-setting Warriors.As you can see, the Thunder are right on a historical pace, one win ahead of the 72-win Bulls' pace and one win behind the 73-win Warriors. And interestingly enough, Oklahoma City holds its own against the Michael Jordan-led Bulls and Steph Curry-led Warriors in a comparison of point differential, one major indicator of how dominant a team truly is.One thing stands out immediately: The NBA sure has turned into an offensive league. But in all seriousness, the Thunder are not only beating teams by a bigger margin than the Warriors and Bulls did, but also Oklahoma City is on pace to post the best point differential in league history. If they did so, the Thunder would be breaking its own record, as last year's championship-winning squad defeated teams by an NBA-record 12.9 points per game, surpassing the previous mark of 12.3 points, set by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.The Thunder possess arguably the league's best player in reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has somehow found a way to get even better by turning himself into a near 50-40-90 player while averaging 32.8 points a night. Next to Gilgeous-Alexander is arguably the league's most talented and deepest roster, headlined by 7'1" unicorn Chet Holmgren and All-Star forwardafter recovering from wrist surgery. Oklahoma City's roster is rounded out by one of the best bench units in the league, featuring scoring guard Ajay Mitchell as well as sharpshooters Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe. If arguably the league's best player and best roster weren't enough of a convincing case, consider Oklahoma City's identity. The Thunder, while a, are also the league's best defense. With rangy wing defenders and two of the league's better rim defenders in Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, Oklahoma City grinds opposing offenses into a pulp to the tune of a league-best 42.4% opponent field goal percentage. This means that on most nights, the Thunder simply don'tto be at their best offensively. They can more easily get away with a quiet offensive night thanks to their stout defense. And we've already seen it happen. A 101-94 win over the Mavericks on Oct. 27. A 109-96 victory over Charlotte on Nov. 15.difficult. It requires a level of focus and discipline so rare, there's a reason only two teams have ever reached even the 70-win mark. The 1995-96 Bulls lost consecutive games just once. The 2015-16 Warriors never lost consecutive games for the entire season. Given the grueling nature of an NBA season, road trips, back-to-backs and all, there's so many surprises and road bumps teams can hit en route to a historical regular season. The Bulls had to navigate six games without Scottie Pippen, the Robin to Jordan's Batman, after he head butted a referee during a March 1996 game. Golden State had to play the first 43 games of its historic season without head coach Steve Kerr, who had taken a leave of absence due to complications and residual pain from two offseason back surgeries. Injuries are also a factor. And Oklahoma City has already seen its fair share of injuries, as the likes of All-Defensive First Team wing defender Luguentz Dort, Alex Caruso, and Hartenstein are all currently dealing with injuries. While it will be a tall order for the Thunder to win a record 74 games, that it's even a possibility after nearly a third of the season has already been played shows just how truly special this team is.Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.
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