Oklahoma City Thunder on brink of history but Warriors and Bulls a reminder of how greatness looks

Through 25 games, the Oklahoma City Thunder are 24-1.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and company are suffocating the entire NBA and leaving no doubt about who the best team in the league is.

Getty

Coming off the franchise’s first-ever championship, the Thunder are ascending to a level far beyond their peers.

They are no longer being compared to other teams this season. No. With this historic, blistering start, they are being compared to the greatest teams of all time.

In fact, they are being compared to the greatest regular-season team of all time, the 73-9 Golden State Warriors. If they maintain this torrid pace, the Thunder are on track to finish the season with a mind-boggling 79 wins.

Now, will OKC only lose two more games the rest of the season? Of course not. That wouldn’t be realistic. But could they win 75 or 76 games? Certainly.

Longtime NBA insider and reporter Marc Stein sat down with talkSPORT’s senior reporter Brian Smith and shared his thoughts on how this Thunder team stacks up against the 2016 Warriors.

“Now, listen — the statistical case the Thunder are assembling is going to smash every record,” Stein said. “As we’re recording this, they just demolished Phoenix by 49 in the NBA Cup.

“The stat going around after that thrashing was that through 25 games, the Thunder have held 20-point leads for a longer duration than they’ve spent trailing all season.

“The point differential — they’re just pummeling teams. Before that NBA Cup game, they were on a 79–3 pace.

Stein was ESPN’s SportsCenter correspondent during the Warriors’ historic season, and he covered 30 of Golden State’s 82 regular-season games that year, an unusually high number for someone who wasn’t a beat writer, underscoring just how dominant that team was.

“Do I think they’re going to win 79? No. Can they win 74 and break the Warriors’ record? Yes. They are that deep. They have more margin for error than that Warriors team. But again — because I spent so much time with that 2015–16 group — what that team did was absolutely incredible.”

Getty

Getty

Stein, however, noted the one flaw that prevented those Warriors from being regarded as the greatest team of all time, forget just the regular season.

Steph Curry and company infamously lost the 2016 Finals to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers after blowing a 3-1 lead. And as NBA culture dictates: It doesn’t mean a thing without the ring.

“They didn’t win the championship, and that’s the ultimate counter,” Stein continued.

“They had a 3–1 lead in the Finals, and LeBron and the Cavaliers pulled off the greatest comeback in Finals history. That Warriors team has to live with that. And this is the NBA — rings are what we judge everything on.”

Stein is correct, it’s all about rings, even though there is so much more to it

While some are already crowning the Thunder, Stein notes that greatest thing he has ever seen took place with Golden State’s start.

What about the 72-10 Chicago Bulls?

Before the Thunder began chasing the 2016 Warriors and their 73–9 benchmark, it was Golden State chasing Michael Jordan’s 72–10 Chicago Bulls of 1996.

For so long, that had been the team regarded as the greatest of all time, and still is to some degree.

Jordan and the Bulls capped their historic season with a title at the end. The difference between them and the Warriors…

“You also have to remember: that Warriors team did it during the full social-media explosion, with the shadow of Michael Jordan and the ’95–96 Bulls hanging over them,” Stein said.

“Every day after that 24–0 start, they were compared to the Bulls. And despite all that pressure, they got to 73.

“Again — they didn’t finish the job, so that’s what people focus on. They get invalidated because they didn’t win the title. I put them in a different category. I say 73–9, breaking the 72–10 Bulls, doing it with Steve Kerr missing 43 games… that team should still be remembered as one of the greatest in league history, even without the ring.”

“The Thunder’s first 25 games have been absolutely incredible… but 25 games is not a season,” Stein said.

“82 games is a season. I get pushback on this all the time because that Warriors team didn’t win, but they started 24–0. This Thunder team started 8–0 and lost one. Last season, the Cavaliers started 15–0, and that was the closest we’ve seen to 24–0.

“This is my 33rd season doing this, and I will die on this hill: 24–0 is maybe the most amazing regular-season thing I’ve ever seen. I don’t know if it will ever be duplicated.

“And remember — they got Kevin Durant after that season. This wasn’t even the strongest Warriors team in that dynasty. But winning 73… that season became a societal phenomenon. Crowds were showing up early just to watch Stephen Curry warm up.”

NBA's Greatest

Greatest NBA players in the world right now – from Luka Doncic to Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama

Best players in NBA history to never win a championship – James Harden and Carmelo Anthony to Allen Iverson and Karl Malone

10 richest owners in the NBA – family empires, media moguls and investment gurus

Michael Jordan’s top 10 scoring games – counting down MJ’s most extraordinary totals

Stein stood firm in his opinion that the 2016 Warriors are the greatest team of all time and that he would take Jordan’s Bulls over the young Thunder squad.

“I know I’m in the minority, but I’m sticking to it,” Stein continued.

“The Thunder might break the record. And if they win it all, two in a row, they’ll have an unassailable argument for most historians and experts.

“But I’m going to bat for the 2015–16 Warriors. I’m taking those Warriors — and Jordan’s best Bulls — over these Thunder.”

If Oklahoma City breaks the wins record and wins the title, it would be hard to argue otherwise.

The Thunder face San Antonio in the NBA Cup semifinals on Saturday night, a game that has a place in the Las Vegas final as well as history now riding on it.

Stay up to date with the latest from the NBA across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel for all the news, exclusives, interviews and more.