With a current record of 16-5 and the number one seed in the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder have consistently been one of, if not the, best teams in the entire NBA.

Whether it has been their historical defense preventing opponents from scoring and causing numerous turnovers or having players be able to score from anywhere on the court, the Thunder have virtually no flaws. Yet, they are still unable to obtain the top spot in the power rankings.

Oklahoma City ranks third in ESPN power ranking

In a recent article published by the NBA experts and insiders over at ESPN, they released their league power rankings and placed the Thunder as the third best team in the association.

As it sits, the two other teams that are ahead of OKC are the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers. While their records are currently better than the Thunders, it is only a matter of one or two games. Other than that, the Thunder have been extremely impressive and should be in consideration for that top spot. 

Oklahoma City has been able to dominate their opponents both defensively and offensively. Not only do they have the best defensive rating while also leading the league in steals, deflections and loose ball recoveries, but they also have the best overall net rating and bench net rating in the NBA.

All of this being accomplished with Chet Holmgren only playing ten total games, Jaylin Williams yet to see the floor and countless players on the Thunder roster going in-and-out of the injury list. 

Although the Cavs and the Celtics have been impressive, especially on the offensive end, what OKC has been able to accomplish while never being at full strength should be a testament to how ‘powerful’ they truly are, especially when headed by players like MVP-candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, who is putting up all-time stats:

Third-year forward Jalen Williams is building a strong early case for his first All-Star selection, as his production has increased in all five of the major categories (21.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.0 block per game). The only players to average at least 21 points with that level of production in the other categories for an entire season: Michael Jordan in 1990-91 and Scottie Pippen in 1994-95.

Once the entirety of the Thunder roster is fully healthy, it will only be matter of time until they have a stronghold on that number one power rankings spot.

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