Thunder in new season tour: The team spends hundreds of millions! Young people are eager to make achievements!

Last season’s record—No. 1 in the regular season, championship team.

68 wins and 14 losses in the regular season.

The Grizzlies were eliminated 4-0 in the first round of the playoffs.

The Nuggets were eliminated 4-3 in the second round of the playoffs.

The Timberwolves were eliminated 4-1 in the Western Conference Finals of the playoffs.

In the finals, they eliminated the Pacers 4-3 and won the championship.

ESPN Top 100 Players

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (No. 2)

Chet Holmgren (No. 24)

Jalen Williams (No. 11)

Alex Caruso (No. 53)

Isaiah Hartenstein (No. 56)

Lüganz Dort (No. 64)

Offseason operation-give Alexander, Jiewei, and Jiewei a maximum salary

The Thunder regards Alexander, Jiewei, and Jiewei as the core of the team in the next ten years.

This summer, the Thunder spent a total of US$822 million to renew the contracts of three core players.

(1) 27-year-old Alexander signed a four-year, $285 million contract extension

In the 2024-25 season, Alexander won the regular season MVP, scoring champion, Western Conference Finals MVP, and Finals MVP.

Alexander’s contract amounts over the years are as follows.

2027-28 season: $63,525,000

2028-29 season: $68,607,000

2029-30 season: $73,689,000

2030-31 season: $78,771,000 (player option)

Total amount: $285 million (US$285,000,000)

Alexander's salary for the 2030-31 season reaches US$78 million, with an average salary of nearly US$1 million per game.

(2) 23-year-old Chet Holmgren re-signed with a maximum salary of US$250 million in 5 years

After missing three months in the 2024-25 season, Holmgren returned in February and helped the Thunder win the NBA championship.

Holmgren played 23 games in the playoffs, averaging 29.8 minutes per game, scoring 15.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1.9 blocks, with a three-point shooting percentage of 46.2%+29.7%+78.4%.

Chet's average plus-minus per game in the playoffs is +7.39, which is higher than Michael Jordan's +7.35, ranking first in history.

Throughout his career, injuries have affected Chet's development momentum (he was reimbursed for his rookie season and only played 32 games in his third year). A healthy Chet is an All-Star player. He is an offensive and defensive player with a very high basketball IQ and skills as an outside player. He is a strong contender for the best defensive player. He has an innate sense of blocking shots. Although they just won the NBA championship, Thunder management believes that Holmgren's peak has not yet arrived.

The first-year salary of Chet's new contract accounts for 25% of the Thunder's total salary cap that season. Chet's new contract is in line with the team's salary structure of rookie maximum salary renewal, ensuring the operational flexibility of the Thunder's salary space.

This contract is more like a big gamble by the Thunder management, with absolute confidence in Holmgren's potential and resilience.

(3) Five-year, $287 million signing of 24-year-old Jaylen Williams

In the playoffs this season, Jaywe averaged 34.6 minutes per game, scoring 21.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.4 blocks.

Jervie was the only two players to be selected to the All-Star, All-NBA and All-Defensive teams last season.

The man who scored 40 points in the finals

In G5 of the finals, Jaywe played 35 minutes and made 14 of 25 shots, including 3 of 5 three-pointers and 9 of 12 free throws. He scored 40 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal.

(4) 3-year, $24 million contract extension for Jaylin Williams

The third year of Jaylin Williams’ contract will be decided by the team whether to execute it.

Jaylin Williams played 47 games in the regular season, averaging 5.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game; in the playoffs, he averaged 2.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.

(5) Three-year, $8.7 million signing with Ajay Mitchell

In the 24-25 season, Mitchell averaged 16.6 minutes per game, 6.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists, shooting 49.5% from the field and 38.3% from the three-point range.

The contract decreases year by year. The first-year contract is fully guaranteed, and only $1.5 million is guaranteed in the second year. The final season contract comes with team options.

(Six) The No. 15 pick selected power forward Thomas Sorber, who was reimbursed for the season due to injury.

Thomas Sorber was born in Trenton, New Jersey. He is 2.09 meters tall, weighs 119.2 kilograms, and has a wingspan of 2.28 meters. He serves as a power forward/center and comes from Georgetown University.

Thomas Sorbo played for the NCAA's Georgetown University this season, averaging 31.3 minutes per game, 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists, shooting 53.2% from the field and 16.2% from the three-point range.

On September 5, Sauber suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during training and will miss all games in the new season.

Offseason operation analysis

The Thunder's offseason operations are very simple. Just one idea: retain the core lineup of the championship and continue to rush for the championship..

The three core and main rotation players have all stayed on the team. There have been no major changes to the team's lineup. The championship lineup is intact and no championship heroes have been lost.

The era of competition among heroes! After you sing, I will appear! Seven teams have won the championship in seven years

The Thunder in the 2024-25 season is the seventh team to win the championship in seven years.

The seven teams are: 2019 Raptors, 2020 Lakers, 2021 Bucks, 2022 Warriors, 2023 Nuggets, 2024 Celtics, and 2025 Thunder.

Advantages

(1) MVP Alexander

Alexander is at the peak of his career.

Some of his achievements are already comparable to Jordan's.

In NBA history, there are only two guards who have averaged 30+ points per game for three consecutive seasons and shot 50% from the field, namely Alexander and Jordan. The other guards have never even achieved this achievement for two consecutive seasons.

With as much pressure as Jordan, the Thunder are a championship contending team.

(2) Chemical reaction

The young Thunder have experienced the baptism of the playoffs for two years, won two tiebreakers, and they won the championship.

At this stage, the Thunder's chemical reaction may be the best in the league, and they know how to use the strength of the team to play.

Hidden dangers

Holmgren's health

On November 11, 2024-25 season, the Thunder played against the Warriors. Holmgren was knocked to the ground while defending Andrew Wiggins for a layup. After the game, Thunder officials announced Holmgren's injury. He suffered a right iliac wing fracture and was expected to be sidelined for 8-10 weeks. Holmgren did not return until February.

Holmgren's health is crucial to the Thunder's championship. Holmgren is the Thunder's inside core.

Holmgren himself also admitted that he must stay healthy. He said this: "I must stay healthy. I was already in the state at the beginning of last year's season, but I suffered an injury. After coming back, I could never find myself again... This summer I finally fully recovered."

Young people are eager to make contributions.

Thunder leader Alexander has expressed his desire for the championship in the new season more than once.

On September 30, Alexander said in an interview: "It would be terrible if we lose the NBA championship in 2026. This is the new goal."

On October 4, Alexander said in an interview: "I Playing basketball doesn't stop at winning once. It's just about being the best version of myself and winning as many times as I can. I'm lucky enough to have the opportunity and the team around me to help me win once, but I'm still chasing my ultimate goal. —— That is to become the most perfect version of yourself. "

On October 14, Alexander said this in an interview: "The core is: How much dominance can you create in your era? Winning consecutive championships is undoubtedly the best proof of this dominance. We definitely have the talent, roster, chemistry and experience to win back-to-back championships. But from now to June 2026, too many links need to be perfectly connected. "

Predicted record

60-64 wins.

Last season, the Thunder still won 68 games with Holmgren playing 32 games and Harteng playing 57 games.

With the Nuggets, Rockets, Mavericks, Lakers and other Western Conference teams receiving varying degrees of reinforcement, the competition in the new season will be more intense, and the Thunder may win a few fewer games than last season.

But the Thunder are still a 60-win team.

Conclusion

Alexander had a historic season last season. He collected hard honors such as MVP, scoring champion, Western Conference Finals MVP, championship, and FMVP.

Compared with 13 years ago, when they were reluctant to lose Harden for US$5 million, Detonator spent US$820 million this summer to retain the core lineup of Alexander, Jaywe, and Chet. In the next few years, the Thunder will be a strong contender for the championship.

Taking into account the suitability and chemical reaction of the lineup, the Thunder are still the most promising team in the league to win the championship in the new season. The Nuggets, Rockets, etc. are all challenger teams.

Obviously, Alexander is not satisfied with a championship. He is eager to make achievements. In an interview, he even talked about his desire to surpass Kobe. The new season is just the perfect opportunity to prove yourself, and the new MVP is full of motivation.

In the past seven years, seven teams have won seven championships. The NBA can be described as an era of "warlord melee". Let us wait and see whether Alexander and the Thunder can unify the world and achieve two consecutive championships.