Lou Williams argues the 2012 Thunder team is better than current OKC squad: "Harden come off your bench, that's a deep basketball team"
The 2024-25 Oklahoma City Thunder are off to the best start in franchise history at 30-6. They also recently recorded the longest winning streak in team history, at 15 straight wins. Because of these accomplishments, some camps are calling them the best Thunder squad ever.
However, three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year winner Lou Williams wants to hit the breaks on that statement. According to Lou Will, there is no doubt that the current Thunder squad is impressive, and they will only get better with more time together. However, crowning them as the best team may be too early.
"If they are able to keep this core group of guys together, they're super young. I don't know what their situation is with the salary cap and everything going on around them on a business side. But basketball-wise, you can tell that this is a team that loves playing together. This is a tight-knit group, and they don't lack confidence. They feel like they can be a championship team. They feel like they can go out and compete for a championship. They are not just happy to be here," said Williams.
The most youthful group in the NBA
Last season, the Thunder became the youngest team to secure a No.1 seed in the NBA playoffs and were the youngest to win a playoff series. They entered the 2024-25 NBA season with the 5th best odds to win the NBA championship and also headed to the current campaign as the youngest team in the league with an average age of 24.148 years.
On the court, OKC has the league's best defensive rating this season. They are also No.7 overall in offensive rating. Led by MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and rising third-year man Jalen Williams, the 2024-25 Thunder boast a well-balanced team with seven players who are scoring at least eight points per game. However, "Sweet Lou" thinks there was a better Oklahoma City group.
"But when you start talking about 'Ever,' you gotta look at the team that they had with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Anytime you have a team and you can afford to have James Harden come off the bench, and be your Sixth Man of the Year, that's a deep basketball team," added Williams.
The 2012 Thunder team was loaded with talent
Like the current OKC squad, the 2012 version was also a young and successful group. Led by Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden, who were only 23, 23, and 22, respectively, they became the fourth-youngest team since the merger to make the NBA Finals, where they lost to the "Big 3" Miami Heat.
"All of these guys that they had on that group, they go out there and hoop. Yeah, they fell short of winning the NBA Finals, but they had somewhat of a similar identity as this team now. Everybody was still young. They were still trying to figure out who they were and carve out their legend and who they were going to be as stars," continued "Sweet Lou."
Unfortunately, "The Beard" was traded after that 2012 playoff run, while KD left for Golden State in 2016. Russ ultimately departed, too, leaving them unable to fulfill their promise. Meanwhile, as Lou says, the current squad is still writing its story, so we must wait before declaring it the greatest Thunder team ever.
