The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 115-110 on the road, completing a 4-0 series sweep and advancing to the Western Conference Finals with relative ease. The last Western team to achieve this feat was the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors, who swept the Trail Blazers in the first round and the Jazz in the second round before winning the championship. That Warriors team, led by Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, is widely considered a dynasty. This season, the Thunder have now swept two consecutive series to reach the Western Finals. Whether they can replicate the Warriors’ success will depend on their performance and opponents in the coming rounds.
These two playoff series have shown that the Thunder’s strength is truly elite in the league, both offensively and defensively. Their wins over the Suns and the Lakers were a testament to their sheer talent and power. Even when facing the Lakers in the second round without Jalen Williams, who averaged over 20 points per game in the postseason, the Thunder were barely affected and still cruised to victory.
In the Western Conference semifinals against the Lakers, the Thunder’s standout performer was not Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Chet Holmgren, but rather Ajay Mitchell. A second-round pick from two years ago earning a mere $3 million annual salary, Mitchell stepped up as a replacement for Jalen Williams. In this series, he delivered both impressive and consistent performances, averaging 22.5 points and 6 assists per game. Standing 1.93 meters tall, he used his relentless drives to tear apart the Lakers’ defense, proving unstoppable in getting to the rim and drawing fouls.
In particular, Mitchell went head-to-head with Austin Reaves in this series, completely dominating him on both ends of the floor. This raises questions for the Lakers’ front office: How can a player earning $300,000 dominate a player who is set to receive a contract worth over $200 million? At the same time, Mitchell’s emergence presents a “happy dilemma” for the Thunder. They now face a tough choice, and the original “new Big Three” of Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Holmgren may not stay intact.
It is well known that the Thunder have benefited from favorable team salary structures since their championship run. However, starting next season, the salary cap situation will tighten significantly. Beginning next season, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren will be on new contracts: Holmgren will earn $41.5 million annually, Williams $41.5 million, and Gilgeous-Alexander’s $272 million extension kicks in from the 2027-28 season, with a starting salary of at least $61 million and up to $75.65 million. Next season alone, the combined salaries of these three players will exceed $120 million. With the league’s salary cap set at $165 million and the luxury tax line at $201 million, it is clear that within the next year or two, the Thunder’s new Big Three will break up. Small-market teams like Oklahoma City, with no billionaire owner, are unlikely to pay luxury taxes just to chase a championship. Among these three, Jalen Williams is the most likely to be traded, especially with Mitchell’s rise potentially accelerating his departure. However, given his talent, leaving the Thunder might not be a bad thing for Jalen Williams.
Do you think the Thunder’s new Big Three will be dismantled?