The Oklahoma City Thunder made an extraordinary leap over the past three seasons, improving by 44 regular-season wins and 60 total wins since the 2021-22 campaign. In the 2024-25 season, the team set multiple NBA records, including regular-season point differential (+1,055), overall point differential (+1,247), regular-season turnover differential (+435), and overall turnover differential (+566). With 68 regular-season wins and 16 playoff victories, the Thunder reached 84 total wins, the third-highest single-season total in NBA history. Their success included a Game 7 win in the NBA Finals on June 22, securing the championship.
The Thunder also marked several milestones, including 64 double-digit wins and 33 victories against the Eastern Conference. Remarkably, they reached the pinnacle of success far quicker than most championship-caliber teams, with only four players from the 2021-22 roster—Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins, and Kenrich Williams—remaining on the team. 
Oklahoma City’s improvement was methodical, a rarity for championship teams. After acquiring Jalen Williams, Jaylin Williams, and Isaiah Joe, they gained 16 wins, despite a Play-In Tournament loss in 2023. With the addition of Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace, they secured 17 more victories and a close second-round loss in 2024. By 2025, the team further bolstered its lineup with Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso, leading to 11 additional regular-season wins, propelling them to the No. 1 seed.
Only the 2014-15 Golden State Warriors came close to matching the Thunder’s three-season improvement. That Warriors squad went from 23 wins in 2011-12 to 67 wins, culminating in their first championship in four decades. The only other teams to surpass or match Oklahoma City’s 84 victories are the 2015-16 Warriors (88 wins), the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls (87 wins), and the 1996-97 Bulls (84 wins), all of whom had previously made deep playoff runs.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the longest-tenured Thunder player, has been crucial to the team’s success since his arrival in 2019. In the 2025 Finals, he averaged 30.3 points, 5.6 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 1.9 steals, and 1.6 blocks, leading the team to a seven-game series victory. Gilgeous-Alexander’s importance mirrors that of other Finals MVPs who were with their teams for at least three seasons before winning the award. Like Kevin Durant with the Warriors or LeBron James with the Heat, Gilgeous-Alexander’s presence has been pivotal to the Thunder’s rise.
While the Thunder’s rapid ascent to a championship required extraordinary progress, they had the key player—Gilgeous-Alexander—well before the rebuild was completed, making their title run even more remarkable.
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