The Oklahoma City Thunder are far and away the best team in the Western Conference and the NBA. They are a well-rounded team, but they always hang their hat on their elite defense, which is their biggest strength.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are the reigning NBA champions after a fantastic 2024-25 season. They had a 68-14 regular-season record, and they won the NBA championship. The Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers in a hard-fought seven-game series in the Finals.
Throughout the past few years, the Thunder have grown into one of the best defensive teams in the league. Nowadays, they are the best defensive team in the league, and they could be the best in NBA history.
With the Thunder’s success, more people have become interested in how they thrive on defense. Thankfully for NBA fans, the Prime Video broadcast discussed the Thunder’s defense and how they keep locking down their opponents under head coach Mark Daigneault’s system.
The Thunder have a versatile defense that can stop any team
On the Prime Video broadcast, former WNBA superstar Candace Parker discussed how the Thunder defend. Alongside Blake Griffin and Udonis Haslem, Parker acknowledged the elite Thunder defense and how OKC loves to pick up high and play physical defense. This defense could be the key to them becoming one of the best teams in NBA history.
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With this physical defense, they force opponents to choose between selling the contact or powering through it. That part of the defense already matters because the offensive players are already thinking about what the Thunder will do.
OKC plays a good mix of pesky defense with a solid structure. Everyone on the court is playing a role, with the likes of Cason Wallace and Luguentz Dort chasing ball-handlers, while the others plug up the holes.
It is a near-perfect defensive structure that makes scoring against the Thunder almost impossible, especially with Chet Holmgren or Isaiah Hartenstein protecting the rim.
“They use their hands, but they also cover a lot of ground. Their wings are covering the nail, their post players are plugging up the middle of the floor, and they’re active and intentional with every moment,” Parker said about the Thunder’s defense on the Prime broadcast.
“The good thing about the pick-up point, the way you can pick up the ball so far out, is that you have me here behind you.
“You trust that I’m gonna have your back. Most of the time when you pick up like that, the ball-handler will be aggressive…,” Haslem followed up.
The Thunder players trust that they will work with each other
Coach Daigneault is setting his team up for success with the defensive structure and schemes he is putting out. At the same time, the Thunder’s players deserve credit for working well together and for their good communication.
The Thunder players trust each other to make the right play and lead the offensive player towards the shot-blockers. It is a near-perfect defensive system that only one team has beaten this season. The Portland Trail Blazers dealt the Thunder their only loss of the season, and it came when the Thunder were dealing with injuries.
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Oklahoma City’s chemistry is off the charts, and the players recognize that they will succeed as long as they keep stepping up for each other. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the clear superstar and leader, but the rest of the roster is working hard to win games.
It is not far-fetched to call the Thunder a budding dynasty. They have all the tools to become a top team for years to come, and that can happen because of their elite defensive structure under coach Daigneault.
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