Zach KramMay 30, 2025, 08:00 AM ET
Shut
Zach Kram is a nationwide NBA author for ESPN.com, specializing in short- and long-term developments throughout the league’s analytics panorama. He beforehand labored at The Ringer overlaying the NBA and MLB. You possibly can observe Zach on X by way of @zachkram.
The most effective workforce within the West is on the rise. This franchise hasn’t gained an NBA title for the reason that Seventies however led by a 26-year-old guard recent off his first MVP trophy, it almost gained 70 video games, completed with a double-digit level differential and gained the Western Convention finals in 5 video games.
I’m speaking, after all, concerning the 2014-15 Golden State Warriors, who reached their first of 5 consecutive Finals a decade in the past this week.
However all the identical traits apply to the 2024-25 Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder, who superior to the Finals with a 124-94 closeout win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. The Thunder aren’t only a typical finalist, however a traditionally nice workforce, they usually mirror these Warriors a decade later, resulting from plenty of eerie similarities between the 2 squads.
Halfway by the 2010s, no person would have moderately anticipated the Warriors — who, to that time, hadn’t reached the convention finals within the Stephen Curry period — to turn into the last decade’s defining workforce, however they pressured their manner into that spot with repeated journeys to the Finals. Equally, the Thunder hadn’t reached the convention finals within the first half of the 2020s, however they’re poised to dominate the remainder of the last decade — and, maybe, to construct a comparable dynasty of their very own.
Statistic
2014-15 Warriors
2024-25 Thunder
Document
67-15
68-14
Level Differential
+10.1
+12.9
Offensive Rank
2nd
third
Defensive Rank
1st
1st
Playoff Document
16-5
12-4
The similarities begin with the 2 groups’ demographics. For now, the 2015 Warriors are the youngest title winner since 1980, with a median workforce age (weighted by playoff minutes) of 26.4 years. However the Thunder are even youthful, at 24.7.
That youth contains the 2 groups’ main scorers, who’re on the identical level of their marvelous careers. Curry was 26 years previous in 2014-15, simply as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is now. Curry had a 63.8% true taking pictures mark en path to his first MVP a decade in the past, whereas new MVP Gilgeous-Alexander had a 63.7% true taking pictures mark this season. (Curry’s 2015 season continues to be, remarkably, the newest MVP marketing campaign that resulted in a championship, and SGA has an opportunity to affix him in that feat.)
Their sidekicks additionally look acquainted. Klay Thompson was a 24-year-old two-way star who made his first All-NBA third workforce when the Warriors launched into their first title run. Jalen Williams is a 23-year-old two-way star who obtained his first All-NBA third workforce nod this 12 months. Draymond Inexperienced was a 24-year-old positional tweener from the Midwest who obtained first-team All-Protection honors. Chet Holmgren is a 22-year-old unicorn from the Midwest who led the league in rim protection, and would have contended for All-Defensive recognition if he had been eligible.
play
2:34
Michael Malone: Thunder are completely unrelenting on protection
Michael Malone joins Scott Van Pelt to interrupt down what makes the Thunder so exhausting to cease after sealing the Western Convention finals.
However wait, there’s extra. Andre Iguodala was a 31-year-old defensive savant who elevated the Warriors when he entered video games as a reserve. Alex Caruso is identical for the Thunder, only a 12 months youthful. Iguodala earned Finals MVP honors that season. Might Caruso observe go well with?
Andrew Bogut was a defensively stout heart who began video games however didn’t at all times end them, averaging 23 minutes in Golden State’s playoff run. Isaiah Hartenstein is virtually the identical, with 24 minutes as a substitute of 23.
Editor’s Picks
2 Associated
Each groups additionally made a vital offense for protection commerce as they constructed out their rosters. The timelines don’t match completely, however the Warriors traded a gifted guard in Monta Ellis as a result of he was a worse playmaker than Curry, and an ace defender (Bogut) was a greater match for the workforce. Equally, the Thunder traded a gifted guard in Josh Giddey to the Chicago Bulls as a result of he wasn’t nearly as good as Gilgeous-Alexander, and an ace defender (Caruso) made extra sense for his or her rotation.
Golden State and Oklahoma Metropolis additionally traveled alongside related paths by the playoffs, en path to the Finals, whilst critics doubted their capacity to translate such great regular-season success to the postseason. Keep in mind all of the discuss a decade in the past about how a 3-point-centric workforce just like the Warriors couldn’t presumably win within the playoffs? It sounded quite a bit just like the narrative this 12 months about how opponents didn’t “fear” the Thunder as a result of they hadn’t gained the title earlier than.
The 2015 Warriors and 2025 Thunder each swept the No. 8 seed within the first spherical, with a giant comeback win in Sport 3: Golden State stormed again from 20 factors down within the fourth quarter in New Orleans — Curry’s ludicrous tying 3-pointer over Anthony Davis highlighted the comeback — whereas Oklahoma Metropolis overcame a 29-point deficit in Memphis.
Then each groups needed to survive a intestine examine towards a veteran, playoff-tested squad within the second spherical, after falling behind 2-1 within the sequence. The Warriors got here again towards the Grit ‘N Grind Memphis Grizzlies to win in six video games whereas the Thunder used a number of fourth-quarter comebacks to beat the current champion Denver Nuggets in seven.
Each groups used a novel defensive wrinkle — the Warriors had Bogut “guard” non-shooter Tony Allen, and the Thunder put Caruso on three-time MVP large man Nikola Jokic — to pave the best way to victory.
And within the convention finals, going through a workforce led by an ascendant star guard (James Harden of the Houston Rockets then and Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves now) and a multitime Defensive Participant of the Yr at heart (Dwight Howard then and Rudy Gobert now), the Thunder and Warriors gained in 5.
Maybe the 2 groups adopted analogous trajectories due to their related statistical profiles. The Warriors are remembered for his or her offensive brilliance, as avatars of the 3-point revolution, however their first championship workforce was really higher on the opposite finish. Golden State ranked first in defensive ranking and second on offense, just like the Thunder rating first in defensive ranking and third on offense this season.
Each groups allowed considerably extra free throws than they tried, however they led the league in factors off turnovers and have been able to breaking their opponents with sudden factors barrages.
From the play-in match to the NBA Finals, ESPN has you coated all through the postseason.
• Convention finals: Preview | Picks• Shelburne: Contained in the Dorture Chamber• Collier: What’s fueling Haliburton’s run• Holmes: Are playoffs too bodily?• Pelton: Rating each potential Finals matchup• Herring: Playoff MVPs by two rounds
Maybe essentially the most essential connection within the large image between the 2 dominant groups is that the most effective was but to return for Golden State, which can be true for Oklahoma Metropolis as properly. Looking back, it’s straightforward to establish the Warriors’ magical 2014-15 season as simply the beginning of one thing particular, slightly than the height — they really had a greater level differential in 2015-16 and 2016-17 and gained a number of extra titles after their first.
Equally, it’s not exhausting to think about a fair higher Thunder season within the close to future, given the group’s youth and roster flexibility. The Thunder may additionally profit from higher damage luck. They gained at a 70-win tempo when both Holmgren and Hartenstein was out there however misplaced each large males for a few much less profitable stretches of this season.
In any case, the Thunder already set the NBA file for level differential this season. With one other 12 months of improvement, is it that onerous to check them pushing for the regular-season win file (73) subsequent 12 months, contemplating the Warriors set the mark the 12 months after their first Finals run?
Two main obstacles may get in the best way of an Oklahoma Metropolis dynasty that may rival the Warriors’ final decade, nevertheless. First, the NBA’s new apron guidelines may trigger a untimely breakup of the Thunder’s elite depth.
So as to preserve their championship roster collectively for the long run, the Warriors led the NBA in payroll in 2017-18 and 2018-19, with a mixed $86 million in luxurious tax funds throughout these two seasons. A decade later, it’s not only a query of whether or not Oklahoma Metropolis’s house owners will approve such lavish spending, however whether or not extra apron restrictions will preclude that chance fully.
Second, the Warriors prolonged their run by signing Kevin Durant in his prime.
It’s enjoyable to take a position how their dynasty may need unfolded had Durant signed elsewhere or stayed with the Thunder in 2016. It’s not as if the Warriors would have collapsed with out him: They’d simply gained 73 video games and sure would have gained the title if not for Inexperienced’s suspension within the Finals.
However Cleveland had arguably the most effective workforce of the second LeBron James period in 2017 — these Cavaliers began 12-1 within the playoffs to achieve the Finals — and Western Convention threats just like the San Antonio Spurs and the Rockets have been on the rise. Golden State in all probability wouldn’t have reached 5 Finals in a row with out Durant.
(It’s straightforward to spin out additional hypotheticals right here. If Durant hadn’t signed with the Warriors, would Zaza Pachulia have been ready to slip below Kawhi Leonard‘s foot in the 2017 conference finals? Would Daryl Morey have traded for Chris Paul to build the first 60-win team in Rockets history? Would the Thunder have even traded for Paul George as a Durant replacement, setting in motion the events that led to Gilgeous-Alexander’s arrival in Oklahoma Metropolis?)
Regardless, Durant’s transfer to Golden State captured an unprecedented situation within the sport’s historical past, which created arguably the most effective workforce the league has ever seen: the 2016-17 Warriors, who rampaged by the playoffs with a 16-1 file.
Until the Thunder win the title and commerce for Giannis Antetokounmpo this summer time, it’s irrational to think about a comparable transfer for Oklahoma Metropolis. In and of itself, that is likely to be adequate cause to doubt the Thunder’s capacity to dominate the remainder of the 2020s, relative to Golden State’s within the 2010s.
play
2:28
Thunder cruise previous Wolves to clinch Western Convention finals
The Thunder blow previous the Timberwolves in Sport 5 of the Western Convention finals to achieve their first NBA Finals since 2012.
However the Thunder have one benefit the Warriors didn’t. Aside from Durant, Golden State didn’t actually add to its core as soon as it began profitable. Of the highest 10 Warriors in complete playoff minutes throughout their five-year run, eight have been already on the workforce when the 2014-15 season started. The one exceptions have been Durant and Kevon Looney, who joined the membership in the summertime of 2016 by way of free company and the draft, respectively.
Golden State barely used the draft after including Curry, Thompson, Inexperienced and Harrison Barnes from 2009 by 2012. As a consequence of plenty of trades, the Warriors made simply three picks within the six drafts from 2013 by 2018. Looney labored out, however Damian Jones and Jacob Evans didn’t. Additionally they traded for Jordan Bell, Patrick McCaw and Nemanja Nedovic on draft night time, none of whom developed into long-term contributors.
Not like the Warriors, the Thunder have extra picks than they’ll really use, together with all of their very own picks and future first-round choices or swaps from the Miami Warmth, LA Clippers, Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers, Utah Jazz, Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks. That stash means extra alternatives for Oklahoma Metropolis to construct round its younger large three — which might be obligatory, given the cap problems that hamper deep, star-laden groups within the fashionable NBA.
The notion of a dynasty in Oklahoma Metropolis nonetheless appears far-off on condition that it hasn’t gained its first title but. However the Thunder are closely favored to take action, and may they win, they are going to be in a greater place to increase their reign than any current champion.
After a complete column’s value of similarities, that context is likely to be the best distinction between the 2015 Warriors and 2025 Thunder. Golden State emerged into the highlight as the most recent version in a protracted lineage of NBA dynasties. From 1999 by 2014, each Finals featured the Lakers, Spurs or Warmth, and repeat titles have been the norm slightly than the exception.
By comparability, as Oklahoma Metropolis ascends the aggressive ladder, the NBA is assured to have its seventh totally different champion prior to now seven years. No reigning champ has superior previous the second spherical for the reason that 2018-19 Warriors.
However the stage is about for the following nice NBA dynasty. The Thunder’s blueprint is obvious, as they observe the Warriors’ mannequin a decade later. They’ve assembled a proficient large three with the correct supporting forged. They’ve survived the mandatory playoff exams. They usually’re ready to outline the 2020s, simply because the Warriors turned synonymous with the NBA within the 2010s.
