Every June, the basketball world loses its collective mind. One team hoists the Larry O’Brien Trophy, and suddenly we’re drowning in dynasty declarations before the confetti has even been swept from the court. This year’s premature victim? The Oklahoma City Thunder, who haven’t even played their first Finals game since 2012, yet ESPN’s Zach Kram already has them mirror-imaging the 2015 Warriors dynasty. Honestly, it’s a fun read and I really enjoyed it. But as someone who has watched the Thunder blow it again and again over the years, it’s tough to truly believe at this juncture.

“The best team in the West is on the rise. This franchise hasn’t won an NBA title since the 1970s but led by a 26-year-old guard fresh off his first MVP trophy, it nearly won 70 games, finished with a double-digit point differential and won the Western Conference finals in five games.

I’m talking, of course, about the 2014-15 Golden State Warriors, who reached their first of five consecutive Finals a decade ago this week.

But all the same characteristics apply to the 2024-25 Oklahoma City Thunder, who advanced to the Finals with an emphatic closeout win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. The Thunder aren’t just a typical finalist, but a historically great team, and they mirror those Warriors a decade later, due to a number of eerie similarities between the two squads.”

Let me ask you something: Do you remember the last time we heard this song?

The Boston Celtics won their 2024 championship and immediately became the darlings of the dynasty discussion. Young core! Jayson Tatum entering his prime! Jaylen Brown’s two-way dominance! Fast-forward to today, and the Celtics suffered a shocking playoff loss to the New York Knicks, with their supposed dynasty architect Tatum

Before Boston, it was Denver’s turn. The 2023 championship Nuggets were supposedly built for sustained excellence around Nikola Jokic’s transcendent peak. Where are they now? Firing their coach and GM with days left in a disappointing season, before being eliminated out of the playoffs in the second round.

And Milwaukee? Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks won in 2021, looking like they’d dominate the Eastern Conference for years:

“Antetokounmpo, 26, has already found his place among the basketball legends; last week he was named to the NBA’s list of the 75 greatest players of all time at the start of his ninth year in the NBA. He is already a two-time MVP. He has won a Defensive Player of the Year award. He has made five consecutive All-Star teams.

The Bucks have won the most regular-season games in the NBA over the past three seasons (162), although two of those campaigns ended in massive disappointments — losing a 2-0 postseason lead to Toronto in 2019 and an embarrassing loss to the Miami Heat in the bubble in 2020.

Not since the Golden State Warriors’ championship in 2015 has a title team looked as if it was still on the ascent. Consider the way the Heat responded during the 2012-13 regular season after winning the title the season before: with 66 wins and a historic 27-game winning streak en route to a repeat. The NBA hasn’t seen a repeat champion since the Warriors won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018, and only three teams — the Warriors, Heat and Lakers — have repeated as champions since the turn of the century.”

Now Giannis name is being hurled in nonstop trade rumors, with speculation running rampant on whether his future lies elsewhere, questioning whether Milwaukee can build a championship-caliber roster around him.

That’s three “dynasties” in four years, each one crumbling before our eyes. Yet here we are again, ready to crown the Thunder before they’ve proven they can even win a single Finals game, let alone win multiple championships. Sure, I’d have them as the betting favorite over whoever comes out of the East, but games aren’t won on paper folks.

The 2015 Warriors didn’t just win; they revolutionized basketball. They went 73-9 the following season, recruited Kevin Durant, and won three more championships. They didn’t just have a moment – they sustained excellence through roster evolution, strategic adaptation, and an organizational commitment to staying ahead of the curve.

It’ll be interesting to see if OKC can get it done just once. They couldn’t do it the last time they had a “dynastic” core.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is 26 years old and just won his first MVP, mirroring Stephen Curry’s 2015 trajectory. But here’s what the dynasty dreamers conveniently forget: Curry’s 2015 MVP was just the beginning of a historically great peak. He followed it up with the greatest regular season in NBA history, then somehow got better in the playoffs for three more championship runs.

Potential isn’t production. Promise isn’t performance. The Warriors’ young core didn’t just develop; they became historically great at their roles while remaining complementary to their superstar. Forgive me for being instantly enraged that anyone would even dare to mention their names next to another team, I’m a homer after all 😉 .

Can this Thunder core sustain excellence while the entire league spends the next five years studying film and building rosters specifically designed to stop them?

Real dynasties aren’t built on one magical playoff run. They’re constructed through sustained excellence, organizational vision, and the ability to evolve when everyone else catches up. The Warriors won four championships in eight years. The Lakers’ Shaq-Kobe era delivered three straight titles. Jordan’s Bulls won six in eight years.

Those teams didn’t just capture lightning in a bottle – they learned how to generate electricity on demand.

The league has never been more competitive, more strategic, or more capable of rapid adaptation. Teams study championship formulas and build counters overnight. The Thunder are talented, young, and well-coached. They deserve tremendous credit for reaching the Finals. But let’s be honest about what we’re really seeing: a very good team having a fantastic season. Is this really the birth of a basketball empire?

Want to talk dynasties? Win this championship first. Then come back and do it again. Then again. Then maybe – maybe – we can have that conversation.

Until then, pump the brakes. The dynasty discussion can wait until Oklahoma City proves they’re more than just the latest team to catch lightning in a bottle. Good luck!