As we inch closer to the start of the 2024-25 NBA season, the Oklahoma City Thunder find themselves at the center of the debate amid the season previews. Many believe the Oklahoma City Thunder — who posted 57 wins last year en route to their first playoff victory since 2016 and have made huge strides this season — are the favorites in the Western Conference.

In the first wave of preview content, ESPN Hoop Collective Podcast The Oklahoma City Thunder were seeded first in the West, which is now a widely held belief. However, ESPN reporter Tim Bontemps went further than his co-hosts Brian Windhorst and Tim MacMahon.

“We can all agree, Oklahoma City Thunder are the favorites to win the West,” Windhorst said before Bontemps stepped in and said, “I would put [the Thunder]in a separate level.”

While his co-hosts were shocked, the ESPN analyst made a compelling case for Oklahoma City being all alone on an island despite the tough conference.

“I would say that in general, they are considered the clear and pretty decisive favorites to come out of the conference. Last year, there was a level head for the course of the season of three teams, the Thunder, the Nuggets and the Timberwolves,” Bontemps explained. “Minnesota lost some key pieces this summer, Denver, we talked a lot about the key pieces that they lost, the questions about Jamal Murray. The Thunder adds [Alex] Caruso replaces Josh Giddey, add Isaiah Hartenstein to that list. Their young players are all going to get better, so I think there’s a pretty big gap between the Thunder right now and the other teams behind them.

Bontemps says the Oklahoma City Thunder are “head and shoulders” above the rest of the Western Conference.

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