Kendrick Perkins Believes Nuggets, Not Spurs Are the Biggest Threat to Thunder’s Title Defense

Former NBA player Kendrick Perkins believes the Denver Nuggets are the biggest threat to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Kendrick Perkins Believes Nuggets, Not Spurs Are the Biggest Threat to Thunder’s Title Defense

Kendrick Perkins believes the Denver Nuggets are the biggest threat to the Oklahoma City Thunder (Image credits - Firstsportz)

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Former NBA Champion and ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins believes both the Denver Nuggets and the San Antonio Spurs, along with defending champions Oklahoma City Thunder, are legit title contenders. All three teams lead the Western Conference standings one-third into the 2025-26 season.

The Thunder, led by reigning league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, have looked unstoppable until two weeks ago. After a record-breaking start to the season in their first 25 games, where they went 24-1, the Thunder have lost three of their last five games. While they still sit at the top of the Western Conference standings, they find themselves at 26-4 after 30 games.

Coming off a finals appearance in the 2025 NBA Cup, the Spurs have shown a lot of promise this season. Even in the absence of Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs have shown no signs of slowing down. They are currently placed second in the standings with an impressive 22-7 record, with two of those wins coming against the Thunder.

Any team with Nikola Jokic are a force to be reckoned with. The three-time league MVP is the frontrunner to lift another MVP award at the moment. The Serbian center is having another dominant season and is looking like the best player in the world right now.

Alongside Jamal Murray, who is having a career-best season and is likely to earn his maiden NBA All-Star appearance, the Nuggets sit at third with a 21-8 record. Last season, the Nuggets were the only team to take the Thunder to seven games in the Western Conference.

Kendrick Perkins knows a thing or two about what it takes to win an NBA Championship. The 2008 NBA Champion believes that the Nuggets and not the Spurs are the biggest threat to the reigning champions.

I think the Spurs are legit title contenders but the biggest threat is still the Denver Nuggets. I would not dismiss what Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are doing this year but I will say the Spurs have put the world on notice but when you look at Denver, Jokic is playing at an MVP level.

There is no doubt that all three teams are led by MVP-caliber players and the NBA world can be assured that the playoffs are going to be entertaining in the West.

LA Lakers are not championship contenders

Another team that deserves to be in the mix due to their offensive arsenal and impressive record so far are the Los Angeles Lakers. They have another MVP-caliber player in Luka Doncic who has been on an absolute tear this season as he leads the league in scoring at 34.1 points per game. Doncic is joined by Austin Reaves, who has been one of the stories of the season for the Lakers, and LeBron James, who has begun to play like his old self once again.

After the loss to cross-town rivals the Los Angeles Clippers, the Lakers have lost back-to-back games for the first time this campaign and have fallen to fourth in the standings with a healthy 19-9 record. Despite their strong start to the season, many pundits believe the Lakers are not title contenders and do not have the squad to take out the younger and more athletic teams in the postseason.

Lakers head coach JJ Redick spoke about the teams that the Lakers have trouble matching with:

We’ve had some games where we did things well but I think the theme with our team is like these young teams that move. We just can’t move so it’s like we’re stuck in mud.

Last season, the Lakers were knocked out by a young team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, in five games in the first round. But with a backcourt trio of Doncic, Reaves and James, Lakers fans will hope that at least two out of the three are firing in every game.

No rivalry between Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren

Both Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren play on teams that are contending for the NBA Championship. Holmgren was an important member of the Thunder when they lifted the title last season and has shown growth this season. His numbers are up from last season as he is currently averaging a career-high 18.2 points per game. While Wembanyama has been in the MVP conversation, an injury has ruled him out for a month.

Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama
Chet Holmgren (Left) and Victor Wembanyama (Right) (Image credits – Fullcourtpass/X)

A lot of fans have compared the two due to their similar size and movement. But when asked if there was any rivalry between the two, Wembanyama was quick to shut it down.

No, I don’t think about that. At least from a basketball standpoint, there’s no comparison between us.

The NBA may still try to sell Wembanyama vs. Holmgren as a long-term duel. But for Wembanyama himself, there is no rivalry to even begin with when it comes to basketball.

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