After a first place finish and a productive offseason, the Oklahoma City Thunder has been showered with praise. From local media to national figures to NBA legends, everyone is in their collective honeymoon phase with OKC after emerging as a title contender last year.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s rise to the top of the league’s MVP ladder has played a big part in that. He’s finished in the top five of the MVP polls in two straight games. Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams round out one of the best trios in the league.
Charles Barkley is one of the national voices who has spoken highly of the Thunder. The Hall of Famer believes the Thunder have strengthened their cause with the veteran additions they made this offseason. He appeared on the Bill Simmons Show podcast to talk about OKC.
“My Sixers had a great summer, but let me tell you something, OKC had a great summer because of Caruso and Hartenstein? Man, they had the best summer,” Barkley said. “… They got two guys, both role players… That’s what you want when you have stars. You want guys that are going to do the dirty work, and they went and got the two best guys in the NBA.”
Barkley will have a chance to see how the Thunder performs this season. As expected, OKC has seen an increase in national television appearances. That means the NBA on TNT crew will have plenty of opportunities to talk about the Thunder and their playoff aspirations.
