Brian Windhorst reveals Thunder 'disrespect' around NBA
Yesterday at 06:17 PM
Despite the Oklahoma City Thunder’s dominating 2024-25 campaign atop the Western Conference standings, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst revealed that they don’t always get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to winning a championship. Amid Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s MVP race, one of the many reasons Oklahoma City should be regarded as a title contender, Windhorst listed a couple of other reasons.
Windhorst shared his strong Thunder take on ESPN’s First Take.
“I don’t mean to have to be the guy who is defending Oklahoma City day in and day out on this program. I’m not even arguing that they are a lock or that they are one of the great teams of the last decade,” Windhorst said. “But my God, is there an incredible amount of disrespect for this team, and Mad Dog, it’s not just you. I hear it every day. I hear it implicitly from other people I talk to in the league.
“I hear it implicitly from players out there who are like, ‘Yeah, yeah will be fine on the same side of the bracket as OKC [Thunder].’ They just don’t respect them. And I go why?”
Without All-Star Jalen Williams, the Thunder will look to knock off the champion Celtics for the second time in two tries.
“They have a problem tonight because Jalen Williams, their second leading scorer, is out tonight, and I just think the Celtics are just going to double-team Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] when it matters, but this team is awesome,” Windhorst said. “They defend. They dominate on that end of the court. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is absolutely one of the most efficient scorers we’ve seen in this era. This guy scores 30 points without breaking a sweat, and he does it every single night.”
"I hear it implicitly from other people I talk to in the league, I hear it implicitly from players out there who are like, 'Yeah, yeah will be fine on the same side of the bracket as OKC [Thunder].' They just don't respect them."
—Brian Windhorstpic.twitter.com/de5XZqUsPc
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 12, 2025
Still, most NBA circles mention contenders such as the Cleveland Cavs, the Denver Nuggets, or, of course, the defending champion Celtics before mentioning the Thunder.
Brian Windhorst says Thunder are legit championship contender
Despite watching the Thunder lose to the Nuggets on Monday, Windhorst isn’t backing down on his championship take.
“They have length. They have depth. They have size. They have matchup versatility in that they can switch on all the wings. This team is absolutely capable of winning a championship,” Windhorst said. “Now, I get it. They’re the youngest team in the league, and you look at any league in any sport, you’re never going to respect the youngest team. I’m not expecting the people to cower to them. But my God, I can’t believe how little respect is paid to a team that had 57 wins last year and is on the way to 65, 67 wins this year.”
The Thunder face the Celtics on Wednesday.
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