Recency bias is real. People often forget the glory days due to seeing a semblance in front of their eyes. But the 2025 version of Thunder pretty much trumps any lightning that came before them. And yes, that includes their OG team with Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Co. have what it takes to go all the way. And ex-Thunder star Paul George puts the stamp on why- sole leadership.

Let’s face it- everyone expected the 2010s Thunder team to send nightmares across the league for years to come. But instead, just one NBA Finals appearance puts their legacy at a permanent stopgap. The problem? Too many leaders. You’d expect future Hall of Famers like Russ and KD to be the ones bringing championship glory to their teams. Not battle against each other’s egos playing in the same team. The current Thunder team doesn’t seem to have that problem. They know their unified leader- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

“I do think for sure this team is a well better put together team than that team with Russ, KD, James, Ibaka. Just because the role everybody know they got to play… I think the difference is Russ knew what his potential was and he knew who he wanted to be. Right? KD knew who he wanted to be. James knew- like all of them wanted to be the man. In Oklahoma, they know who the man is- Shai’s the guy,” said Paul George on his podcast.

It takes a lot to trump a serial triple-double machine like Nikola Jokic to the MVP race. But SGA’s aura is unmatched. The Canadian PG got PG-13 in awe. And after becoming the second Thunder player to score 35+ points in Game 7 after Durant himself, he’s putting his foot down- “I am the MVP. Acknowledge me.” He’s leading by example, and showing the rest how to captain a team to championship glory.

But one man can’t win you championships alone. The foundation of ringwinners is a team. And Mark Daigneault’s formula has paid dividends. They might’ve stumbled a little against an ambitious Nuggets team. But you know the clear difference, that separates them not just from Durant’s Thunder team, but from the rest of the NBA? The whole team, playing like MVPs every game.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Thunder team has flexibility like you’d never imagine

Yes, Shai’s offense is taking center stage in The City. But that really puts the rest of the team’s efforts in the backseat. You don’t become the best offensive and defensive team in the league due to just one man. And this is characterized by their defensive flexibility. On Bill Simmons’ podcast, Ryen Russillo talks about any one of their players transitioning into a center, which has worked wonders for them defensively.

“I think the other part of it is the thing that you loved about them all regular season is this team can go one big, they can go two bigs and both bigs actually compliment each other.  We found out today they don’t need a big. Alex Caruso is a 6’4 center… And then they have that small lineup today just to kind of pour on their adaptability. So, you whenever you look at the playoffs, you’re like, hey, they’re deep. They’ll do all this stuff. It’s like you really only want to play seven guys and be who you are,” said Russillo on the pod.

You can go on and on about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pulling the team to the series dub. But he has only one man to thank- the Jokic stopper, Caruso. Thunder’s resident Derrick White became the first bench player in NBA history to be +40 in a Game 7. SGA highlighted this when he said: “He’s a player that understands a moment, controls what he can control and does that at a very high level. Nobody that I’ve ever played with does that at a higher level. He’s always figuring out how to change the game and better the team. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Tuesday in February in New Orleans or a Game 7 tonight. To have a guy like that on your team, it’s special.”

So, the verdict is set. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s team trumps Kevin Durant’s OKC team due to sheer leadership and teamplay. When the call was for a unified leader, SGA stepped up to the ocassion. But as the leader, he never fails to put his team in the spotlight. Is this finally Thunder‘s year?