Can anyone stop the Thunder?

In a league that’s seen seven different champions over the past seven seasons — a rarity in NBA history — the reigning titleholders, the Oklahoma City Thunder, are making a strong case to break that streak.

With their eighth straight win, a commanding 126–107 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night, OKC has set a franchise record for best start to a season.

Youth vs. experience: Thunder outrun the aging Clippers

The game at the Intuit Dome was a clash of generations. The Clippers, the oldest team in the league with an average age of 32.2, featured veterans like Brook Lopez (37), Nicolas Batum (37), James Harden (36), Kawhi Leonard (34), and Chris Paul (40), who returned to his former home court for what’s likely his final season. In contrast, the Thunder’s average age is just 25.2 — making them the 10th youngest team in the NBA.

That age gap showed. The Clippers jumped out to a 33–23 lead in the first quarter and held a slim halftime advantage (57–56), but the Thunder’s relentless energy and superior talent flipped the script. OKC outscored L.A. from that point on, including a dominant 32–21 fourth period, and at one point led by 25 points.

Shai leads the charge

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was once again the heartbeat of the Thunder, posting 30 points, 12 assists, and 4 rebounds. He’s now scored 20+ points in 80 consecutive games — a streak only surpassed by Wilt Chamberlain.

Isaiah Joe added 22 points off the bench, hitting 6 of 10 from beyond the arc, while five other Thunder players also scored in double figuresGMA Network+1.

James Harden led the Clippers with 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists, doing his best to keep his team competitive in Kawhi Leonard’s absence.

Thunder’s start echoes Warriors’ legendary run

The Thunder are now the only undefeated team in the NBA and sit atop the Western Conference. Their 8-0 start mirrors the early dominance of the 2015–16 Golden State Warriors, who famously began that season 24-0 en route to a 73-9 record — the best regular season in NBA history. With a third of that streak already matched, whispers of a new dynasty are beginning to surface.

If OKC keeps this up, we may be witnessing the birth of the NBA’s next powerhouse — one built not on aging stars, but on youth, depth, and relentless pace.

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Los Angeles Clippers

Stats

33 Nicolas Batum
5 Derrick Jones Jr.
40 Ivica Zubac
8 Kris Dunn
1 James Harden
10 Bogdan Bogdanović
24 Kobe Brown
12 Cam Christie
20 John Collins
11 Brook Lopez
14 Yanic Konan Niederhauser
3 Chris Paul
19 Jahmyl Telfort

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
33 Nicolas Batum	17	3	1	0	1	3	1	0	0	0/0	0/0	1/5	0	3	0
5 Derrick Jones Jr.	28	16	4	2	2	2	1	1	1	3/3	2/5	3/7	0	2	0
40 Ivica Zubac	25	7	7	4	3	2	2	2	0	1/2	3/8	0/0	0	2	0
8 Kris Dunn	30	6	5	0	5	3	3	2	1	1/2	1/1	1/3	0	2	0
1 James Harden	30	25	6	0	6	6	2	1	0	6/6	2/8	5/9	0	2	0
10 Bogdan Bogdanović	29	11	6	0	6	4	1	2	0	3/4	1/2	2/6	0	1	0
24 Kobe Brown	6	0	1	0	1	2	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/3	0	0	0
12 Cam Christie	6	5	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	0/0	1/2	1/2	0	0	0
20 John Collins	24	17	4	1	3	1	5	1	0	6/6	4/6	1/2	0	3	0
11 Brook Lopez	15	12	2	1	1	0	2	0	0	0/0	0/3	4/4	0	2	0
14 Yanic Konan Niederhauser	6	5	2	1	1	0	1	0	0	3/4	1/2	0/0	0	1	0
3 Chris Paul	11	0	1	0	1	3	1	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/1	0	2	0
19 Jahmyl Telfort	6	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/1	0	0	0

Oklahoma City Thunder

Stats

5 Luguentz Dort
7 Chet Holmgren
55 Isaiah Hartenstein
2 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
22 Cason Wallace
15 Branden Carlson
9 Alex Caruso
13 Ousmane Dieng
11 Isaiah Joe
25 Ajay Mitchell
21 Aaron Wiggins
6 Jaylin Williams
3 Chris Youngblood
23 Brooks Barnhizer

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
5 Luguentz Dort	14	6	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	1/2	1/1	1/3	0	4	0
7 Chet Holmgren	30	11	5	0	5	3	3	1	3	3/4	4/7	0/1	0	4	0
55 Isaiah Hartenstein	23	10	7	2	5	3	1	4	0	2/2	4/6	0/0	0	2	0
2 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	29	30	4	0	4	12	2	0	3	8/9	5/9	4/5	0	2	0
22 Cason Wallace	24	12	3	0	3	1	1	1	0	0/0	3/5	2/4	0	1	0
15 Branden Carlson	3	2	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0/0	1/1	0/1	0	1	0
9 Alex Caruso	23	8	1	0	1	3	0	2	0	0/0	1/1	2/5	0	2	0
13 Ousmane Dieng	5	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
11 Isaiah Joe	21	22	3	1	2	0	1	0	0	2/2	1/2	6/10	0	2	0
25 Ajay Mitchell	19	8	4	2	2	3	2	4	0	0/0	4/9	0/1	0	2	0
21 Aaron Wiggins	25	12	2	1	1	2	0	0	0	0/1	3/6	2/4	0	2	0
6 Jaylin Williams	13	3	5	1	4	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	1/3	0	1	0
3 Chris Youngblood	3	2	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	2/2	0/1	0/1	0	0	0
23 Brooks Barnhizer	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0