Spencer Schultz recently chatted with PressBox about the Thunder being the clear favorites to win a second straight championship, the teams that could challenge them and more as fans look into futures bets as the NBA playoffs get going.
PressBox: How did the Oklahoma City Thunder get so good so fast?
Spencer Schultz: They focused on efficiency in the modern NBA — stretching the floor, running. They also hoarded a lot of picks that they hit on, simply. They hit on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander [via trade]. He was not a top, top pick overall. He is ultimately who has propelled them forward. He is one of the three best players in basketball and touches the ball nonstop. He also happens to be incredible defensively.
Getting a guy like that and then continuously having so many picks as a result of a successful rebuild and successful development I think is important. Basketball is a sport where so much is on star players as opposed to any other sport. We watched LeBron James for years carry the Cavaliers with some not-incredible casts around him. To have culture and to have a tight unit that is efficient, young and focuses on playing smothering defense as well is a testament to what they’ve built. What they’ve built is … as clean of a rebuild as has happened in any sport in the last 10, 15 years.
PB: Is this the Thunder’s tournament to lose?
SS: Absolutely, after they struggled two years ago and then got the monkey off their back last year. They have a final-form James Harden in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who can dictate pace and get you in foul trouble. They are still growing and still ascending and still have first-round picks. It absolutely is their tournament to lose. They’re the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference after winning the Finals.
Victor Wembanyama is a little beat up, and longevity is an issue with somebody that size. In the East, I don’t know who’s going to beat them. Cade Cunningham dealt with a serious [lung] injury late in the regular season. The Celtics have been very impressive this year, outpacing expectations in terms of totals and futures and all that stuff.
The Thunder have been able to cruise a little bit. They’re hot going into the tournament. They’re relatively healthy. They have a big three. They have experience. They’re still ascending. They’re unbelievable at home. They’re efficient. I think it is their tournament to lose.
PB: The Thunder will enter the playoffs as the clear favorites. Does a futures bet on the Thunder to win the NBA Finals carry any value or should bettors fold that into a larger bet?
SS: If you can get them at +150, put a couple units on it. I think there is value there. I think they are really, really difficult to beat. The only team in the West that I feel like can beat them is the Nuggets, and they dealt with the Nuggets last year. I think there is value in taking it, and I don’t see their odds getting better for you throughout the tournament. I would be remiss to think that they don’t at least make a deep run into the Western Conference finals. I’d be surprised to see them not come out of the West.
PB: Can the Nuggets give the Thunder a run for their money in a seven-game series?
SS: I think so much of Nikola Jokić and I think so much of their flexibility that I do think the Nuggets have a good chance against the Thunder. The Spurs to me are still so young. Victor Wembanyama is the most talented player in basketball, but the seven-game series aspect [favors the Nuggets more than the Spurs]. Nikola Jokić’s ability to command so much attention, so much respect and be such a fully complete, evolved player with where he is in his career … I think of him kind of like a different version of Dirk Nowitzki on the Mavs. I could see the Nuggets making a run and putting it together. They’ve already done it once. I do not hate them at all to beat the Thunder or win the NBA Finals. If it weren’t for the Thunder, I think they very possibly have another one or at least another Western Conference championship.
PB: What team do you like to make it out of the Eastern Conference?
SS: I don’t like the Cavs. It’s hard not to like the Celtics. The Pistons have been admirable with Cade Cunningham’s injury. We watched the Thunder rise in a season like the Pistons did and fall short. It is rare that a young team with a young franchise player as their leader instantly blows through their conference in their first playoff run in that top-dog spot.
Jayson Tatum has recovered [from a ruptured Achilles]. The East is weak. The East has been weak. The Celtics have the experience. They have the system. They have the depth. They’re the favorite. They’re the only team in the East that has 10-1 odds or better of winning the Finals. The Cavs, Knicks and Pistons are all considered long shots.
I do like the Knicks. The Knicks, I think, can get hot. They have the leadership, they have the effort, they have the experience, they have the star and a little bit more depth now than they’ve had in years past.
PB: BYU’s AJ Dybantsa is the clear favorite to be drafted No. 1 overall. Do you think anybody else can challenge him for that spot?
SS: Dybantsa I think has a good combination of instant impact because of his explosiveness with really high upside. [His] production in college wasn’t quite as high as his sky-high expectations, but he falls into a really good archetype of player. I would be a little surprised, coming off a successful season with all the hype that he had … [a player] who makes his free throws and can shoot from deep at a young age despite being lanky, I think he’s too tantalizing to pass up on. I don’t think Cam Boozer has a shot at 1-1. He’s a bit of a bully around the rim. That’s his game, just too oriented around the rim and not prolific touch or anything. The size is good, but it’s not dominant size, either. I don’t see him being a superstar, especially not quickly.
Photo Credit: Brooke Brennan/Oklahoma City Thunder
Originally published April 15, 2026