The Western Conference is looking surprisingly top-heavy to start the 2025-26 season. It's beginning to look like the NBA version of capitalism, with the 1% getting richer at the expense of the rest, as six West teams currently have fewer than 10 wins.
In NBA terms, that 1% is the Oklahoma City Thunder, who now have an absurd 24-1 record.
The Thunder have a +17.4 point differential and an active 16-game winning streak. It would be a 25-game winning streak, and we'd be having the conversation of whether they can break the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers record of 33 consecutive wins; that is, had the Portland Trail Blazers not defeated them on Nov. 5.
Blazers have the blueprint to defeat the Thunder, and the rest of the league needs to take a look (before it's too late)
In that contest, the Blazers came back from down 22 to win 121-119 at home. After seeing how much the Thunder have dominated the rest of the league, that win looks even more impressive than it was at the time.
OKC is on a historic tear, and while they won't push that Lakers squad for the longest winning streak, they very well could be in the conversation for the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors' historic 73-9 record at the end of the season. Their .96 winning percentage puts them on track to win 78 games. But that has to regress at some point with inevitable injuries or teams somewhat figuring them out... right?
Contenders have to know by now that their path to a championship runs through OKC. They must assemble their roster and even consider adjusting their playstyle to prepare for that specific matchup, because this is a historic dynasty that isn't going away anytime soon -- and somehow keeps getting better.
The good news for Portland is that they clearly are ahead of the curve when it comes to matching up with the NBA's juggernaut. Part of that win is attributed to a red-hot shooting night of 19-43 (44%) from downtown, but the Blazers also have a unique roster construction that seems to give the Thunder problems.
Deni Avdija's positional size and physicality were a matchup nightmare for their guard-heavy lineup that likes to switch everything. In Portland's win, he even beat Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at his own game of annoyingly drawing fouls, going 15-of-16 from the charity stripe. This working formula goes far beyond Avdija, too. The Blazers have an All-Defensive wing in Toumani Camara to throw at SGA, who went an inefficient 10-of-26 from the field in that contest.
It's important to note that the Thunder were playing a second half of a back-to-back with a road game against the Clippers the night before. But the Blazers used that to their advantage, managing to wear down a young team with their relentless defensive pressure.
OKC has avenged its loss twice now since then with wins on Nov. 23 and 30. But that's not what the rest of the league is talking about. They're looking at that one particular game the Blazers managed to steal, and how they can replicate that success.
With their length and athleticism, Portland has a very unique roster, so it may be difficult, but it's something all 28 other teams in the league should be trying to do. The blueprint for taking down the NBA's juggernaut lies not only in that win but, more importantly, in the Blazers' roster construction.