NBA Exec Reportedly Says 'Thunder vs. CBA' Will Be League's Next Great Rivalry
Having just won an NBA championship and locked in their star trio this summer, the Oklahoma City Thunder's biggest obstacle to being a dynasty is the collective bargaining agreement.
At least in the eyes of one league observer.
On the latest episode of The Hoop Collective Podcast (starts at 20:03 mark), ESPN's Brian Windhorst said an NBA executive he spoke to said the "Thunder vs. the CBA" is shaping up to be the league's next big rivalry.
"He's like, 'Well I know what the next great rivalry in the NBA is.' And I go, 'What? I'll bite, what?' He goes, 'The Thunder vs. the CBA,'" the executive joked to Windhorst.
The executive's remark likely stems from the fact that teams are much more conscious of how much they are spending because of the apron restrictions in the CBA. Unfortunately for the rest of the NBA, those apron rules aren't going to impact Oklahoma City for awhile.
Even after handing out a combined $822 million in extensions for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren last month, the Thunder are projected to be over the second apron once in the next five seasons (2026-27).
The club is only projected to be over the tax in 2026-27 and 2027-28. Oklahoma City is an estimated $21.4 million under the tax and $30.9 million under the first apron going into 2028-29.
Those figures are with Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and Holmgren accounting for $150.2 million in salary in 2027-28. Alex Caruso will also be making just under $21 million that season.
This doesn't even factor in that the Thunder still have 12 first-round draft picks available from 2026 to 2032. They can use those to keep replenishing the pipeline of young talent or potentially build a trade if a young star becomes disgruntled with their team.
If this is supposed to be a rivalry, the CBA is faring about as well against Oklahoma City as the Cumberland College football team did in a 222-0 loss to Georgia Tech in 1916.
