After the OKC Thunder took home the 2025 Larry O'Brien Trophy, it appears all of their direct foes are now building up their rosters to not only position themselves for a title-run in 2026, but to prevent Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and company from becoming the first club to repeat in nearly a decade.
The second-seeded Houston Rockets swung for the fences and struck on a blockbuster trade to land Kevin Durant this past June. The Denver Nuggets, whom Lu Dort has publicly admitted were already Oklahoma City's biggest challenger, opted to bolster their role player arsenal this offseason around cornerstones Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.