OKC Favored After 68-Win Title Season

The Oklahoma City Thunder enter 2025-26 as the league’s team to beat after a 68-win season and the franchise’s first championship, buoyed by a young core led by Finals and league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and long-term extensions for Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren that keep the roster largely intact. Despite being preseason favorites to repeat, OKC faces a deep Western Conference with serious challengers — most notably Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets — while Cleveland, bolstered by Donovan Mitchell and offseason addition Lonzo Ball, projects as a top Eastern threat if it can shore up playoff defense. The 2025 draft class arrives alongside the title chase, headlined by No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg and several other rookies (Ace Bailey, VJ Edgecombe, Kon Knueppel, Hugo González, etc.) expected to make immediate rotation impacts and compete for Rookie of the Year. The league’s generational shift is underscored by Cooper Flagg being the youngest player in the NBA and by the fact that 83 current players were born after LeBron James’s debut. In college football, North Carolina fell 21-18 to California as QB Gio Lopez and receiver Kobe Paysour (101 yards) showed encouragement heading into a key matchup with Virginia.