Ex-NBA star smells trouble for OKC if super-team fails to do THIS in next 6 years

Ex-NBA star Gilbert Arenas took to his podcast to lay down some major expectations for the young Oklahoma City Thunder squad.

Ex-NBA star smells trouble for OKC if super-team fails to do THIS in next 6 years

Gilbert Arenas makes boild claim about the Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder are the team of the present and the future. The Thunder have the youngest roster in the league, with most of their stars in their early to mid-20s. Yet somehow, OKC stands as one of the top contenders to win an NBA title this season. With the amount of talent in the team’s roster, former NBA star Gilbert Arenas has high expectations from the Thunder.

Gilbert Arenas took to his ‘Gils Arena’ podcast to discuss the future of the young OKC Thunder squad. Arenas has been a fan of the Thunder team, even choosing the team’s superstar guard, Shai Gilgeous Alexander, as his MVP pick last season.

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However, with great expectation comes great responsibility, and Arenas pointed out the high expectations the Thunder will be facing.

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This is a better team than the 2012 team… If [The Thunder] don’t win a championship in the next 6 years, that’s a problem.

Gilbert Arenas said on the podcast

Gilbert Arenas believes that if the Thunder fail to win an NBA title in the next six years, the team will be considered a disappointment. Arenas compared the team to the 2012 OKC Thunder, which hosted a core trio of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook. Even though the 2012 Thunder team made it to the NBA Finals, Arenas believes that the current OKC roster is even better.

The Thunder have started the season on an incredible 8-1 run, standing atop the Western Conference. After a second-round exit to the Dallas Mavericks last year, the Thunder bolstered their roster to make a run at the NBA title. As Gilbert Arenas pointed out on the podcast, the addition of defensive studs like Alex Caruso and a reliable backup center in Isaiah Hartenstein has increased the depth of the Thunder.

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Is Gilbert Arenas right about comparisons between the 2024 and 2012 OKC Thunder?

Gilbert Arenas pointed out that he believes the current iteration of the OKC Thunder is a better squad than the 2012 Thunder. The 2024-25 Oklahoma City Thunder are reminiscent in many ways of the 2012 team that took the league by storm.

That 2012 squad was special, featuring a young Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden. They were all under 24, and their playstyle was like catching ‘thunder’ in a bottle.

Over a decade later, the Thunder have somehow managed to craft a new team with similar energy but a different approach. As Gilbert Arenas pointed out, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the superstar spearheading the team. Around him, there’s a mix of young talent. Chet Holmgren, with his shot-blocking and shooting touch, brings some of the Serge Ibaka-flair. Jalen Williams, too, is finding his rhythm as a rising star.

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Unlike the 2012 team, which leaned heavily on their three stars, this Thunder roster is built on balance and depth. They may not have the same star power yet, but the potential here is undeniable. As Gilbert Arenas stated, winning a championship within the next six years seems like a given for a roster this young and well-constructed. It remains to be seen if the Thunder can actually pull it off.