Which team should scare the Thunder the most in 2024?

The Oklahoma City Thunder caught the eyes and ears of the other 29 NBA teams throughout last season and this summer. As they prepare to enter the 2024–25 NBA season, OKC will shoulder the pressure and expectation of showcasing itself as arguably the best team in basketball. With several Western Conference powerhouses coming for their throne, intensity is in the air.

While the Thunder, according to the opinion of the majority, are the favorites to win the West crown next season, they’ll be met with trying to survive maybe the toughest conference of all time. Are the Thunder ready for the challenge?

Assessing the biggest threats

With NBA teams looking to follow the blueprint of the defending champion Boston Celtics, many understand what it takes to win — but which teams are actually positioned to win?

The Oklahoman’s Joel Lorenzi penned a list of the top threats to the Thunder in 2024. Here are his five West teams that may present themselves as the greatest challenger to next season’s No. 1 seed:

• Dallas Mavericks

“Whether the Mavericks punched above their weight and found momentum at the right time en route to an NBA Finals berth is an entirely different discussion.”

• Minnesota Timberwolves

“Anthony Edwards is a year older, back from his explosive run to Olympic gold. The majority of the core that helped it reach last season’s West finals has returned, and while Minnesota’s summer wasn’t as newsworthy as Oklahoma City’s, rookies Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. are notable.”

• Denver Nuggets

“Even while it seems that Denver’s championship hopes aren’t as obvious as they were, it still has the best player in the world, which is good enough to win most nights.”

• Memphis Grizzlies

“Above all, Ja Morant is electric. In the mere nine games he played a season ago, the world was reminded of that. What he offers as he inches toward his prime should hardly be a question.”

• Phoenix Suns

“Phoenix’s potentially grim future outlook doesn’t have so much bearing on what they can be this season. And while the Suns are surely in a different tier than several, if not all of these teams, it has the potential to make some regular season noise.”

Of the five teams, who should OKC fear the most?

Just because the Thunder rattled off 57 wins and became the youngest No. 1 seed to sweep a series a year ago doesn’t mean the following season will be as smooth. Entering the 2023 season, OKC had middling expectations in terms of filling up the win column, which isn’t nearly the case for next season.

Now that the blue and orange have jumped on the league’s radar, many teams will come prepared to tackle their different lineups and rich depth. As far as matchups are concerned, the Memphis Grizzlies’ roster appears to be the best constructed to fight the Thunder’s versatility.

Drafting big man Zach Edey in June’s NBA Draft, Memphis has a 300+ pounder anchoring the inside and someone who can neutralize Isaiah Hartenstein. Unlike Chet Holmgren, who can extend to the perimeter against plodding big men, Hartenstein's scoring skill set is limited to the interior.

On the perimeter, Memphis has a potentially devastating defensive lineup of Marcus Smart, Desmond Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr., three players that can match up virtually inch-for-inch with Shai Gilgeous-Alexnader, Alex Caruso, and Jalen Williams, allowing superstar guard Ja Morant to step away from the demands of playing lockdown defense.

While the Grizzlies have some ground to make up for after a sub-30-win season that effectively left all their star players out of the lineup, they have the backbone of an emerging contender and explosive camaraderie among players on the court.

Oklahoma City will remain the favorite of all these teams because of their rapidly rising track record. Gilgeous-Alexander is pegged in the conversation as the best in the world, and OKC’s trio is arguably the best in basketball.

Next season will be the judge of where the Thunder are in their championship window. Perhaps no team ever with this much youth has entered a season with the suffocating expectations that the Thunder have. How they respond to that is something many are waiting to find out.

Related: HoopsHype speculates on if OKC will make a final move before next season