OKC missed out on a chance to become the third team to enter the All-Star Break with only a single-digit loss after losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves before the break. Now with 66% of the season already through, the home stretch finally begins and the Thunder hope to make the most of its chances to secure a top finish in the NBA.

With a 44-10 record, the Thunder enters as a hot pick to win it all with their impressive pace so far. OKC has topped the Western Conference for quite a long time now, and they are eight games ahead of the second-place Memphis Grizzlies, which just shows how far they are from the rest of the competition – and how well they are doing as a whole.

OKC has become a contender to watch in just a short span of time, and it cannot be denied that the Thunder are making a strong pace to finish as a league-leading team to wager on heading into the playoffs. Now more than ever, there are high expectations of Oklahoma City’s rise to prominence.

A Thunderous Surge

OKC’s rise to the game hasn’t been much precedented over the years. Three years ago, the Thunder were on its second-worst season ever in a row with a 24-58 record, still in the middle of a rebuild. In just a short span of time, OKC has turned it all around and is on the pace to become the back-to-back 1st seed in the Western Conference after finishing 57-25 last season.

This is the first time in history that the Thunder is on the pace for a 68-14 record at the very least. The best finish for the Thunder has been at 60-22, which was in 2012-13, and that hasn’t been matched since then, with OKC coming up close to that mark last season, but fell short by three wins.

OKC has outscored its opponents by an average of 12.9 points per game, which is the best differential in the history of the game – and it also tops the mark of the 1971-72 Lakers who had a winning differential of +12.3 per game back then. Despite the 15-point loss to the Timberwolves last week, The Thunder remain the only team not to lose by at least 20 points.

It is also worth noting that OKC’s comeback culture is also starting to make its return. Comebacks have been a trademark of the Thunder over the years since the Kevin Durant era – the ability to withstand massive deficits and win the game is never an easy feat. But OKC stands at 12-7 in the games where they have trailed by double-digits, which is the best record in games down by 10 points in the last 29 seasons.

What’s Next for OKC?

The Thunder are set to enter Week 18 in a clash on the road against the Utah Jazz and the Minnesota Timberwolves. They will be playing five of their first six post-break games on the road, which says a lot about how tough the challenge will be for OKC moving forward.

Still, the Thunder are the best team in the league, and the return of Chet Holmgren has been a brief adjustment period for the team – but it is highlighting a bright future for the team now more than ever. It is a sign of scary things to come considering that the Thunder has been stable even with a lot of injuries bothering the squad as a whole.