The Athletic’s 146-player poll picks Thunder to win NBA Finals, but there’s a catch

If there’s one lesson the Oklahoma City Thunder learned in 2025-26, it’s that the respect that comes with winning an NBA championship can quickly turn into hate. Jalen Williams clapped back at the Thunder haters, reminding everyone that the only critics the defending champions pay attention to are the ones they see in the mirror. Oklahoma City isn’t interested in winning any popularity contests.

Perhaps it’s why the Thunder, the odds-on favorite to repeat, received 50 percent of votes from an anonymous NBA 146-player poll predicting this year’s champion, per The Athletic’s Josh Robbins, Sam Amick, and Joe Vardon.

“Oklahoma City received “only” half of the vote. This is the fifth year The Athletic has conducted its Anonymous NBA Player Poll, and in each prior instance, the predicted champion earned a larger share of the vote than the Thunder did this year,” Robbins, Amick, and Vardon reported. “Fifty percent is all the defending-champion Thunder could muster? Even with Gilgeous-Alexander likely headed to his second consecutive regular-season MVP award?

“The Thunder had the league’s best defense by a wide margin — allowing only 106.6 points per 100 possessions — and one would think that would have inspired more confidence in their chances to repeat.”

For context, here are the percentages of votes received by former championship teams prior to this year’s poll.

“The 2018-19 Golden State Warriors received a whopping 79.5 percent of that season’s vote. The 2022-23 Milwaukee Bucks were named by 62.2 percent of respondents. The 2023-24 Nuggets garnered 55.9 percent,” Robbins, Amick, and Verdon added. “And last year, the Celtics were considered the championship favorites by 57.7 percent of the players.”

From a data standpoint, it feels as if there’s a chunk of NBA players hoping the Thunder won’t repeat as defending champions, or maybe the title-contending teams are closer to Oklahoma City than it appears.

Jalen Williams fires back at Thunder haters

Jalen Williams and the defending champion Thunder clinched the No. 1 seed for the third consecutive year. Afterward, Williams addressed the narrative surrounding the Thunder’s play style, which often includes accusations that All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is constantly foul-baiting, despite being the league’s reigning MVP.

“We actually do not care if people are bored watching us, to be completely honest with you. We’re trying to win basketball games at the end of the day. Just like everybody else. So, that’s our superpower,” Williams said. “We’re not getting bored with the process. We don’t take wins like these for granted. If you don’t come and bring it, you can lose to anybody in the NBA. So, that’s how we take these games. We don’t care who’s bored watching.”

Williams and the Thunder’s title defense begin officially next Sunday against the winner of the 7th seed in this week’s Play-In tournament.

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