Photo by Kyle O Sullivan / Unsplash
By Charles Collier
In my opinion, the Oklahoma City Thunder is the best NBA team of all time. Yes, this includes any team you can name from the history books of the Chicago Bulls, the Boston Celtics, or the Los Angeles Lakers (or even of our beloved Milwaukee Bucks).
On December 10, 2025, Thunder thumped the Phoenix Suns 138-89 (a 49-point victory)! Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a team-high 28 points for Oklahoma City and was clearly the best player on the floor. With their latest victory, the OKC Thunder have improved to 24-1, tying the 2015-2016 Golden State Warriors for the best record ever through the first 25 games of an NBA season. They have won 16 consecutive games, with an average point differential of +17.5, the most in NBA history. The Thunder will face the San Antonio Spurs for a chance to reach the championship game of the mid-season tournament known as the Emirates NBA Cup 2025.
According to the Thunder’s Chet Holmgren, “Obviously you never want to lose … but we’re a little more juiced for these [tournament] games.” That would make sense, as OKC looks to redeem itself after last year’s Emirates Cup championship loss to the Bucks. Since that loss last year to Milwaukee, the Thunder has gone an amazing 72-10.
The Spurs stand as a formidable opponent against the Thunder Saturday night. San Antonio beat the Lakers 132-119 this past Wednesday. Stephon Castle scored a season high 30 points for the Spurs, as they were too much for the streaky Lakers. Castle joined Tim Duncan and Victor Wembanyama as the only players in Spurs’ history to record at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists in a single game at age 21 or younger. “We just all just want to win,” Castle said postgame. “We don’t care who does it. We have a versatile team, very deep team, so there are a lot of guys who can get it done.” Castle and the Spurs must bring their A game if they are to defeat the Thunder and advance to the midseason tournament’s 2025 championship game.
In other Emirate Cup games, the New York Knicks defeated the Toronto Raptors 117-101 on December 9, 2025. The Orlando Magic beat the Miami Heat 117-108 and will play the Knicks Saturday night in Vegas for the right to play in the Emirates Cup 2025 championship game.
I predict the Knicks and Thunder will match up in the Emirates Cup final, and the ever-dominant Thunder will prevail.