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After seeing the fruits of their rebuild bloom in 2023-24, the Oklahoma City Thunder are ready for the next step in their evolution to NBA championship contenders.
Despite having the second-youngest team in the league, the Thunder surprisingly achieved the best record in a wildly competitive Western Conference last year by finishing at 57-25. It was Oklahoma City's first winning season since 2019-20 and the team made a massive leap from finishing in 10th place in 2022-23 to first place last year.
The Thunder's youth movement was spearheaded by star point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished second in the voting for NBA MVP behind Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokiu0107.