The Oklahoma City Thunder were unable to defend their title last season as they were dethroned by the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals in seven games. But with the dawn of a new season upon us, count new Philadelphia 76ers star LeBron James as someone who still believes that the Thunder are a serious threat for an NBA championship this year.
During a recent episode of LeBron James’ joint podcast with Steve Nash, ‘Mind The Game,’ the future Hall of Famer sent a warning to anyone who is counting the Thunder out as a legitimate NBA championship contender for the 2026-27 season.
“I think it’s very important that we, as fans of the game and the casuals, don’t write off OKC just yet,” James declared.
James and the 76ers figure to be one of the NBA’s title contenders this year with their retooled roster. But in Western Conference, the Thunder still have championship contending roster. It can be argued that injuries played a major factor in the Thunder’s playoff fate last season. Both Jaylen Williams and Ajay Mitchell were limited during their series against the Spurs.
A healthy Thunder team is still among the best teams in the West on paper. Although the organization had to shed salary, trading away key rotation players such as Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe, the team still has the requisite depth to make a deep playoff run.
The Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers in seven games in 2025 to win the franchise’s first NBA title. Following the move to Oklahoma City, the organization does not include the history of the Seattle Sonics who did win an NBA championship in 1979.
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