The Oklahoma City Thunder will enter the 2025-26 season with virtually the same rotation that captured last year’s championship, preserving 99.2 percent of their postseason minutes. The lone absence is guard Dillon Jones, who logged 46 garbage-time minutes. Such stability is uncommon in the modern NBA and positions Oklahoma City to pursue the league’s first repeat title in eight years.
More experience for an already deep roster
Beyond returning the entire core, the Thunder add another season of high-pressure reps to a young group that already set the single-season record for point differential. Team officials believe that combination of continuity and depth could make the club even stronger in 2025-26.
Turnovers threaten Portland’s progress
The Portland Trail Blazers strengthened their lineup by acquiring Jrue Holiday and, when healthy, Damian Lillard to complement a defense anchored by Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara and rookie center Donovan Clingan. Yet turnovers remain a glaring concern. Portland finished 29th in turnover rate last year, surrendering the ball on 16 percent of possessions. Trading Anfernee Simons—who owned the roster’s best assist-to-turnover ratio—has magnified the risk.
With Lillard expected to miss significant time, second-year guard Scoot Henderson is set for a larger workload. Among 30 point guards who logged at least 1,000 minutes and posted above-average usage, Henderson ranked 29th in turnover rate; only Russell Westbrook fared worse.
Kings’ new trio stalls on defense
The Sacramento Kings reshaped their core around Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine, but the trio struggled to contain opponents. In more than 1,000 shared possessions, the group allowed 120.9 points per 100 possessions, landing in the 11th percentile league-wide. When Malik Monk joined the lineup, the defensive rating dipped further to 124.8, the 3rd percentile.
While some of the damage can be traced to unfavorable three-point shooting luck, Sacramento lacks the defensive personnel to close the gap, leaving the franchise once again caught between an explosive offense and an unreliable back line.
Source: Hoops Wire
