2026 OKC Thunder fan survey: Expectation is another 60-plus win regular season - OKC Thunder Wire
With the 2026-27 regular season right around the corner, the Oklahoma City Thunder enter the year as a popular title pick. Even after their summer of cost-cutting moves, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams remain one of the most successful and decorated trios in the league.
The Thunder went a league-best 64-18 this past regular season. But fell short of their back-to-back ambitions in the 2026 Western Conference Finals. Injuries played a large part in that. But that's in the past. Can't change anything about it now.
Now that the offseason is behind us and we're looking ahead to another nine-month marathon, let's rewind on OKC's biggest moves and preview what most folks believe the Thunder will do this upcoming year.
To get ready for the upcoming season, Thunder Wire conducted a 16-question fan survey. A total of 1,145 Thunder fans participated. Not every question was answered, though. The response totals for each question can be seen at the top left corner of the pie charts.
One question was about OKC's 2026-27 regular-season win expectation. Over half of voters expect a 61-65-win year. That would put the Thunder in rare air with three consecutive 60-plus win campaigns. Only six other teams in NBA history can say they've accomplished the same thing.
The Milwaukee Bucks were the first from 1970-72. The Boston Celtics did it twice from 1980-82 and 1984-86. The Los Angeles Lakers did it from 1985-88. The Chicago Bulls from 1995-98. The Utah Jazz from 1997-99. And the Golden State Warriors lastly did it from 2015-17.
The Thunder went 68-14 in the 2024-25 regular season. And then 64-18 in the 2025-26 regular season. All while dealing with a ton of injuries. Holmgren missed three months in that first year with a hip fracture. Williams played less than half of the games last year with nagging wrist woes and hamstring strains.
The one constant? Gilgeous-Alexander. The two-time MVP winner has proven to be a walking 60-win machine. As long as he has competent NBA players, he can carry any iteration to a high win percentage. It will be interesting to see if that trend continues this upcoming year. Especially since they lost some of their depth and are going through a recast among the complementary pieces.
I think it'll come down to health. If Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren and Williams are mostly healthy β something that hasn't happened in over two years β then they should be a regular-season win machine again. Even with several roster changes happening this past summer. That trio is talented enough to pull that off.
If the Thunder somehow pulls off a 60-win year again, it'll be the most impressive of the bunch. That should theoretically be enough to be the first seed for the fourth consecutive year β which is a historic feat in its own way.
