Windhorst: NBA Players 'Don't Respect' Thunder as Contenders in 2025 Playoff Bracket

Despite having a significant advantage in the race for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder still have to prove to teams and players around the NBA they are a dangerous playoff squad.

Appearing on Wednesday's episode of First Take, ESPN's Brian Windhorst explained players around the NBA "don't respect" the Thunder as title contenders.

"I hear it implicitly from other people I talk to in the league. I hear it implicitly from players out there who are like, 'Yeah, yeah will be fine on the same side of the bracket as OKC.' They just don't respect them," Windhorst said.

It's not a surprise that people in the NBA feel this way. The league is often one of skepticism until a player and/or team actually gets over the hump.

If you think back a few years ago, there were analysts questioning whether the Denver Nuggets were good enough to win a championship with Nikola Jokić as their best player.

Jokić has since led the Nuggets to a title, is generally regarded as the best player in the NBA and analysts are once again talking about Denver as a championship contender despite being 11 games behind the Thunder in the standings.

Even last year when the Boston Celtics were steamrolling everyone in the regular season, their past failures in the playoffs led to questions about whether they could finish the job. They wound up having one of the most dominant playoff runs in NBA history to win a championship.

Some of the criticisms about the Thunder can be justified. They were the No. 1 seed in the West last season and lost in the conference semifinals in part because their lack of size made it difficult to score in the paint against a Dallas Mavericks team with Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford guarding the basket.

The Thunder attempted to address some of their size concerns in the offseason by signing Isaiah Hartenstein. They are also better this season than they were in 2023-24 because their best players are have improved.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is neck-and-neck with Jokić in the MVP race, leads the NBA in scoring average (32.7 points per game) on 52.5 percent shooting. Jalen Williams was a deserving All-Star selection this season who is averaging more than 20 points, five assists and five rebounds per game.

Chet Holmgren is being carefully managed after missing three months due to a fractured pelvis. His size and skill on both ends of the court could be a huge determining factor in how far the Thunder go in the playoffs.

If you just did a blind resume, the Thunder would tick all the boxes of a clear-cut title favorite. Their 12.6 net rating is on pace to be the second-best in NBA history. They have a superstar player at the top of their roster, a second All-Star behind him and a budding star in Chet Holmgren to carry the load.

Even with some warranted skepticism because winning a title is extremely hard, the Thunder have earned their status as the best team in the Western Conference going into the playoffs.