Despite having been the reigning number one seed in the West, being led by a budding superstar, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and sporting one of the deepest rosters in the entire league, heading into the 2024-25 season, the OKC Thunder were surprisingly being counted out as both a marketable franchise and serious title contender.
Now, after a truly historic campaign that saw them thrust over the hump and win their first NBA Finals, with SGA simultaneously shedding his "budding" label and earning unquestioned superstardom status along the way, one would expect the doubters to finally take a rest.