Thunder’s 18-0 record vs. California NBA teams feels historically absurd

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been dominant so far in these playoffs, recently surviving their first close call of the postseason in Game 4 of the second round against the Los Angeles Lakers to complete their second straight sweep. The Thunder once again led the NBA in wins this season and are now just eight victories away from a second straight championship.

The Thunder enjoyed incredible success against not only the Lakers, but the state of California as a whole this year, going an astonishing 18-0 against squads from the state in 2025-26. That mark includes an 8-0 record against the Lakers spanning the regular season and playoffs, as well as a 4-0 record against the Golden State Warriors, and 3-0 records against the Los Angeles Clippers and the Sacramento Kings.

It’s just the latest example of how dominant Oklahoma City has been throughout this season. While the Thunder didn’t quite keep up their scorching pace of the first month of the campaign, when it looked like they had a real shot to challenge the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors’ record of 73 wins in a season, they were still a model of consistency, not experiencing much, if any, dropoff when superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed time around the All-Star break.

Up next for the Thunder is the Western Conference Finals, where they will take on either the San Antonio Spurs or the Minnesota Timberwolves for the right to go to the NBA Finals. The Spurs currently lead that series 3-2, and if they indeed end up advancing, it will set the stage for one of the most highly anticipated playoff matchups in years.

The Spurs were one of the few teams to experience success against Oklahoma City this season, compiling a record of 4-1 against the defending champs, with the unique skillset of Victor Wembanyama as well as the Spurs’ depth at the guard position proving to be a real problem for the Thunder. Whether this was simply a blip on the radar for Oklahoma City or something to be genuinely concerned about remains to be seen.

Of course, regular season results don’t always translate to the postseason. One need look no further than last year’s New York Knicks, who were swept by the Boston Celtics in the regular season and then beat them in the playoffs, for an example of this.

Still, if the Thunder do match up against the Spurs, they’ll likely have a healthy amount of respect for San Antonio, considering how the season series played out.

The Spurs will look to make that matchup a reality when Game 6 of the Timberwolves series gets underway on Friday evening in Minnesota.

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