The OKC Thunder have set the standard across the NBA this season. The defending champions sit atop the West with a staggering 30-5 record, miles ahead of the pack. With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the charge, whispers of the Warriors’ historic 73-9 mark are growing louder. But the numbers only tell part of the story. What is still being overlooked?

Even a back-to-back title may not mark the Thunder’s peak. It sounds hard to believe, but the path to improvement is already in place. This is not about locking in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, or Chet Holmgren. Oklahoma City is also holding a potential lottery pick in the next draft, courtesy of the Clippers. That wrinkle changes everything.

The Clippers, who are in the midst of an abysmal campaign right now, owe their first-round pick in next year’s draft to the Thunder. The reigning champions acquired this pick through the Paul George trade. It was one of three unprotected first-round picks that the Clippers sent to Oklahoma City to pair George with Kawhi Leonard.

So, if the Clippers continued to lose, this pick would almost guarantee that the Thunder would further bolster their roster next season, regardless of how they finished this campaign. But that was until recently. That’s because the Klaw and the Clippers have picked up their slack, winning each of their last six games, which is nothing short of a miracle at this point for this aging LA squad.

So much so that fans have started to believe that the rest of the 28 teams are purposely losing against the Clippers to help avoid handing their 2026 first-round selection to the Thunder.

The NBA community accuses the rest of the league of plotting against OKC

“The league is actively tanking against the Clippers to keep that #1 pick out of OKC 😭,” one fan wrote, suggesting the same, as several other reactions poured in from all around the world. 

It seems like the Los Angeles Clippers’ recent turnaround has raised some eyebrows with fans claiming that teams are tanking against the storied franchise to ensure that they don’t end up handing OKC a lottery pick next season. “So did teams start letting the Clippers win so OKC doesn’t become a dynasty with that draft pick lol,” another user wrote.

Indeed, as things stand, it seems like we might be witnessing the start of a dynasty, which can extend even further with the insane amount of draft capital the Thunder possesses. So, it seems like the entire league is trying to stop it, or at least that’s what the fans believe.

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“Saw someone that teams were losing to the Clippers on purpose to tank the Thunder’s pick, but I just have to grin because there’s only one top 10 pick in the Thunder’s starting 5, and it ain’t even SGA,” another person wrote.

He simply pointed out that, despite everyone seemingly turning against the OKC Thunder, they don’t need a top 10 pick to succeed, as only Chet Holmgren is the only lottery pick in their starting lineup. So, it’s the fact that the Thunder have a better system of nurturing talent rather than just relying on top picks to make them a title-contending team.

However, that’s not all, as some fans still not only accuse the rest of the teams in the league but the NBA itself of trying to stop the OKC Thunder from building a dynasty. “NBA saw everyone complaining about the Thunder getting the Clippers’ pick and just flipped the script mid-season 😭😭 Fair’s Adam Silver,” they wrote on X.

Meanwhile, another fan lauded Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers for finally locking in and taking things seriously. “The Clippers are finally taking it seriously bc there should be no way in f–k that OKC should have anywhere near a top 5 draft pick,” he commented. Indeed, the veteran forward has been on a roll recently.

Over the last six games, Kawhi Leonard has averaged 39.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists. He’s a huge reason why the Clippers have looked so impressive recently, and if he continues to win games for his team, he might actually be able to save his franchise from making the rich even richer, as we continue to keep a close eye on this situation.