Heading into Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, the Oklahoma City Thunder are the class of the NBA.

The Thunder won their first-ever championship last year after posting a franchise-best 68-14 record during the regular season. They didn't quite match that mark this season—they went 64-18—in part because injuries limited All-NBA forward Jalen Williams to only 33 games.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is fresh off winning his second straight Most Valuable Player award and is headed for his fourth straight first-team All-NBA selection. Chet Holmgren earned his first All-Star nod this year and finished second to San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama in the Defensive Player of the Year race.

Top-end talent isn't all that sets the Thunder apart from the rest of the NBA, though. Other teams have Big Threes and Big Fours as well, after all.

Instead, the Thunder's depth and player development have given them a major leg up on their competitors.

OKC’s Draft Vision Changed How NBA Teams Are Built

The Thunder hard-launched their rebuild after the 2019-20 season. Over the next five years, they had one top-five pick and two top-10 picks.

The top-five pick was Holmgren, whom the Thunder took second overall in 2022. The other top-10 pick was Josh Giddey, whom the Thunder selected sixth overall in 2021. Three years later, OKC traded Giddey to the Chicago Bulls for veteran reserve Alex Caruso.

Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren helped give the Thunder a championship foundation, but that was only a piece of the puzzle.

Ten picks after taking Holmgren, the Thunder landed Williams at No. 12 in 2022. Although injuries submarined his 2025-26 campaign—perhaps to the Thunder's long-term benefit—he earned his first All-Star and All-NBA selections in 2024-25. If he stays healthy next year, Williams should be right back in the All-Star mix.

Williams was hardly the Thunder's only draft-day steal in recent years, though.

In the same draft that netted them Holmgren and Williams, the Thunder also landed Arkansas center Jaylin Williams with the No. 34 overall........

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