Serge Ibaka was thrilled to see the Oklahoma City Thunder finally win their second Larry O’Brien trophy in franchise history last June, and he has high hopes for his former team.
According to the former NBA journeyman, the Oklahoma City Thunder have the tools to become the league’s next dynasty because they kept their young core together for the foreseeable future.
“They’re young. They’re going to keep getting better and better. Sam (Presti) always does a great job at putting a team together. Right now, they’re confident. It’s their moment,” Ibaka said on TMZ Sports.
“There’s a lot of things (that) happen before you win a championship. On your way there, there is a lot of things (that) can happen. Sometimes it’s not always about talent. You can have all the talent like we had, but those things, they go with luck, too. On paper, they have a chance to win three… They’re young. They’re going to keep getting better and better,” he added.
Oklahoma City Thunder receive great offseason grade from ESPN analyst
The Oklahoma City Thunder managed to lock down Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Jaylin Williams, and Ajay Mitchell to new long-term extensions, and that was enough to garner a B+ offseason grade from ESPN analyst Kevin Pelton.
“The defending champs return every player who saw at least 50 minutes of action during the 2025 playoffs, so the real work for the Thunder front office was securing long-term extensions for stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams,” Pelton explained.
“A supermax deal for Gilgeous-Alexander and max deals for Holmgren and Williams will force tough choices for Oklahoma City, but the Thunder did well to sign Holmgren to a deal locked in at 25% of the 2026-27 cap and avoid giving Williams a player option on his extension,” he added.
