The Oklahoma City Thunder continue to put themselves in the center of nearly every league-wide conversation after pushing their record to 20–1, a start matched by only three other teams in NBA history. As the wins pile up, national analysts are beginning to measure this Thunder run not only against the rest of the league, but against basketball’s greatest teams.

Net Rating, Historic Starts and League Context

According to season-start data referenced this week by The Athletic, the Thunder once again lead the NBA in net rating, checking in at +15.2 through 21 games. That figure is 2.4 points per 100 possessions better than last year’s OKC team, which finished with the second-best net rating of the post-merger era, trailing only the legendary 1995–96 Chicago Bulls (+13.4).

As The Athletic noted, OKC’s current 20–1 opening places them alongside:

  • The 2015–16 Warriors
  • The 1995–96 Bulls
  • The 1967–68 76ers

as the only teams ever to win 20 of their first 21 games.

Streak at 12 — With Warriors Up Next

The Thunder’s 12-game winning streak will be tested Tuesday at Golden State. The Athletic’s Zach Harper broke down why OKC is entering that matchup as one of the hottest teams in league history and why their recent return of Jalen Williams only raises the ceiling.

Williams played his first game since July wrist procedures on Friday, finishing with 11 points, eight assists and four rebounds. Harper noted Williams’ timing looked expectedly rusty, but stressed that Oklahoma City just added “an All-NBA player to the league’s best defense” and “an All-Defensive-level athlete to a team already dominating everybody.”

He also joked the Thunder are so deep that “they should have to forfeit all their future first-round picks.”

The Path Ahead: How Long Can This Run Last?

Harper outlined a stretch where OKC could potentially tie or break its own franchise-record 15-game streak:

  • Tuesday: at Golden State
  • Friday: vs. Dallas
  • Sunday: at Utah (potential streak-tying game)

If OKC continues winning into next week, the streak could extend into NBA Cup play, where matchups with Phoenix, the Lakers or the Spurs await.

Forecast Model: What Are the Odds?

On Monday, data analyst Neil Paine, writing on his Substack NBA forecast model, used Elo simulations to project how long the Thunder’s streak might continue:

  • ~50% chance OKC wins three more straight
  • 32% chance the streak survives the NBA Cup semifinal
  • 1-in-178 chance of tying the 1971–72 Lakers’ 33-game record

Paine also noted that if OKC somehow matched that 33-game run, they would sit at 41–1 on Jan. 15, a pace even the 1996 Bulls and 2016 Warriors never reached.