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Inside The Thunder

OKC Thunder Continue to Make History While Sweeping the Lakers

Oklahoma City finished off its second four-game series victory of the 2026 postseason in historic fashion. 
Randall Sweet|
May 11, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) moves the ball down court against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half in game four of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena.
May 11, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) moves the ball down court against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half in game four of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

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Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder have had a tremendous start to the postseason.

OKC has yet to drop a game heading into the Western Conference Finals, despite being without All-NBA wing Jalen Williams for the last six contests.

In Williams’ absence, a number of players have picked up the slack for Mark Daigneault’s team, most notably, Ajay Mitchell. All-Star big man Chet Holmgren has also been a bright spot for Oklahoma City, and Jared McCain has been a spark plug scorer off the bench. 

The aforementioned players, alongside superstar Shai Gilegous-Alexander and the rest of the Thunder’s roster, have helped OKC make history once again. 

With a pair of sweeps in the first two rounds of the playoffs, Oklahoma City holds an 8-0 postseason record, becoming the 11th team in NBA history to start a playoff run with eight consecutive wins. 

The Thunder join the 1982 Los Angeles Lakers, 1989 Lakers, 2001 Lakers, 2005 Miami Heat, 2009 Cleveland Cavaliers, 2010 Orlando Magic, 2012 San Antonio Spurs, 2016 Cavaliers, 2017 Cavaliers and 2017 Golden State Warriors. 

OKC is just the fourth defending champion to start 8-0 in the playoffs, joining the 2017 Cavaliers, 2001 Lakers and 1989 Lakers. 

The impressive start to this year’s playoffs has led Oklahoma City to its second consecutive Western Conference Finals appearance and sixth since 2011. During that time span, no team has reached the conference finals more than OKC. 

The Thunder reached the Western Conference Finals in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2025 and now 2026, a third of the team’s total seasons since arriving in Oklahoma City.

The Thunder are also the first defending champion to reach the conference finals since Golden State in 2019. 

Through its first eight games of the 2026 postseason, OKC has achieved a +16.6 average scoring margin while shooting 50.9% from the field. According to OptaSTATS, the Thunder are the first team in NBA history to reach those numbers in the postseason while starting 8-0. 

After two consecutive campaigns filled with historic efforts from the Thunder, the team has continued to put its name in the record books during the 2026 NBA Playoffs. With Jalen Williams likely coming back at some point during the postseason, Oklahoma City will have the chance to make even more history if it can muster eight more wins. 

Those wins won’t come easy, though, as a matchup with Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs or Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves looms in the Western Conference Finals.

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Randall Sweet
RANDALL SWEET

Randall Sweet is a 2022 Oklahoma University graduate who has formerly written for the Norman Transcript and OU Daily. Randall also serves as the Communications Coordinator at Visit OKC.

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