The Oklahoma City Thunder have secured the top spot in ESPN's NBA Future Power Rankings for the second consecutive year. This projection, which looks ahead to the 2026-27 through 2028-29 seasons, confirms the team's status as the league's premier long-term franchise.
ESPN analysts Ben Golliver, Zach Kram, Bobby Marks and Dean Oliver evaluated every team across five key categories. The Thunder finished first repeating their achievement from last year's rankings. They scored a dominant 93 in the player category and a league-best 95 for management. Their draft score was a strong 85, good for fourth place.
The team's financial flexibility is a noted challenge, ranking 29th with a score of 19. Their market score came in at 48, placing them 17th. Despite these constraints, the foundation is incredibly solid. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a two-time MVP. Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren are both All-NBA level talents. That trio forms one of the most decorated cores in basketball.
The future projection aligns with present-day dominance.
Earlier in that series, they secured a 120-107 home win on April 23 and a decisive 119-84 victory on April 19. This consistent performance, including the NBA's best record and point differential over the past two seasons, suggests the next few years will follow a similar pattern.
The primary question surrounds the salary cap. Once the big contracts for Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren and Williams fully kick in, they could consume around 85% of the payroll. That leaves very little room for other moves. The front office, led by highly respected executive Sam Presti, will face tough roster decisions to avoid crossing the punitive second apron and triggering massive tax bills.
We saw some cost-cutting moves last summer. More drastic measures might be needed later. However, if this core delivers a second NBA championship in three years, pressure will mount on ownership to spend. The whole point of having a team is to capitalize on a golden window like this one. Supporting players like Cason Wallace, Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain offer internal growth potential to help fill out the roster without huge external spending.
Oklahoma City enters the 2026-27 season as a co-title favorite alongside the San Antonio Spurs. Their combination of young star power, excellent management, and a treasure trove of future draft picks makes them the team to watch. Fans can track the team's progress and upcoming schedule on our schedule page as they build toward another title run.
