The franchise has won two championships, and both were paid for with trades that moved a name out for assets. The 2026-27 group, still scoreless in the standings, carries a payroll built on that same instinct, the one Sam Presti has followed for close to two decades now.
Seattle's Title, Then Harden
The only other championship in this history came in 1979, when the SuperSonics won it all in Seattle. The 2012 trade that sent James Harden, Cole Aldrich, Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward to Houston for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and first-round picks from Toronto and Dallas set the pattern Presti still follows: move a name now to bank draft capital for later. That instinct helped build the group that beat Indiana in seven games for the 2025 title, and it still stocks a 21-man roster with an average age of 24.3.
October 10, Before Oklahoma City
On this date in franchise history, Seattle lost three times: 89-113 at New York in 1972, 111-115 at Phoenix in 1973, and 98-99 at home to the Lakers in 1980. Oklahoma City's current team has not played a game that counts yet this season, sitting at 0-0 after preseason losses to the Pelicans on October 6 and the Bucks on October 7. The scoreboard looked rough on this date before; the stakes now are a title defense, not a rebuild.
What the 2025 Run Costs Today
Keeping that championship roster together carries a price. The payroll is $216.2 million, clear of the $209.0 million first-apron threshold and the $200.4 million tax line, with Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams each earning $41.5 million and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at $40.8 million. Both the 2027 and 2028 first- and second-round picks are tied up in swaps; only 2029 and 2030 are fully Oklahoma City's own. It is the same trade Presti made with Harden's draft return in 2012, just paid in a different currency.
Has Oklahoma City won a title before 2025?
Yes, once. The franchise's only other championship came in 1979, when the team played in Seattle as the SuperSonics.
Why are the Thunder's 2027 and 2028 draft picks not fully their own?
Both years, in both rounds, are listed as swaps rather than Oklahoma City's own selections, part of the cost of a $216.2 million payroll already clear of the first-apron threshold.
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