The Oklahoma City Thunder cruised into the NBA Finals this season for only the second time in history, but this could just be the beginning of a dynasty for one of the league’s youngest teams.
OKC’s young team advance to 2025 NBA Finals
The Thunder have been the best team in the NBA this year and after finishing the regular season atop the Western Conference, they continued their dominance deep into the playoffs.
As a result of its continued success, OKC is now in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012 thanks to a comfortable victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Thunder took just four games to dismantle Minnesota, with the Timberwolves remaining one of five teams to never make the NBA Finals.
While league MVP Shai Gileous-Alexander has played a huge role in his teams joy this year, his young teammates have shown experience beyond their years this season.
OKC has the youngest team in the league this season, with the average age on its roster just 25.6 years old.
Not only do they have the youngest team in the league, but the Thunder also became the youngest squad to ever advance to the Finals since 1976-77 – the second youngest in history.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are the 2nd youngest team in NBA history to make the NBA Finals in the shot clock era
They have an average age of 25.6 years old ⛈️ pic.twitter.com/mMeuP1aoSt
— Underdog (@Underdog) May 29, 2025
Draft picks could lead to OKC Dynasty
While the Thunder already has a youthful team, they could add even more young superstars to their already talented roster with some great draft picks coming up.
Following some of the most underrated trades in NBA history OKC now holds the keys to a potential dynasty.
Thunder draft picks
- 2025: 2 first round picks, 1 second round
- 2026: 2 first round pick, 1 second round picks
- 2027: 2 first round pick, 2 second round picks
- 2028: 1 first round pick, 3 second round picks
- 2029: 1 first round pick, 5 second round picks
The majority of OKC’s upcoming draft picks came from one trade, which could go down as one of the best in NBA history.
In 2019 the Thunder traded Paul George to the Clippers for Gilgeous-Alexander as well as a historic amount of draft picks to rebuild the team.
Since then George has struggled in the league, with constant injuries preventing the nine-time All Star from ever reaching the heights that he did with OKC in 2018-19.
Gilgeous-Alexander on the other hand has developed into one of the league’s biggest superstars, becoming one of just four players in the last 20 years to win MVP and make the Finals in the same season.
OKC’s first round pick from 2024 is also set to make his debut in 2025, with 6’6 guard Nikola Topic yet to play in the NBA following a season-ending ACL injury prior to the draft.
