Should Thunder Prioritize Main Core Or Giannis Antetokounmpo?

After once appearing unstoppable, the Oklahoma City Thunder suddenly looked vulnerable.

The Thunder labored through a 111-103 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday in a decisive Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals. The outcome yielded unsettling short-term and long-term developments.

The short term: the Thunder lost out on the chance to advance to the NBA Finals in hopes to defend their NBA championship.

The long term: the Thunder have to internalize what they need to do to ensure their championship window remains open.

That window has not slammed shut. An NBA team hasn’t defended its championship since the Golden State Warriors did in 2017 and 2018 with future Hall-of-Famers in Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala. NBA history shows that multiple-time champions have won their titles in between playoff eliminations.

Nonetheless, a strong breeze threatens that window to shut abruptly. It came in the form of the Spurs. They have a towering big man (Victor Wembanyama). They have one of the best’s NBA young backcourt (Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper) and a productive veteran to assist them (De’Aaron Fox). They have a proven young head coach (Mitch Johnson) and an engaged Hall-of-Famer that still helps behind in the scenes (Gregg Popovich).

The Spurs became a formidable opponent against the Thunder in a seven-game playoff series and in three out of four regular-season matchups. Years from now, the Spurs will likely look like a shell of themselves in this latest playoff series than when this young roster all blossoms into their prime.

How should the Thunder respond? Should they simply improve from within with a young core that features a two-time MVP (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), a Defensive Player of the Year runner up (Chet Holmgren) and an emerging All-Star (Jalen Williams)? Or after collecting assets for the past decade, should the Thunder cash in on those reserves to secure Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo?

It’s not an easy decision for Thunder general manager Sam Presti to make. The Thunder have the best trade package than anything the Bucks could receive from plenty of their other suitors. Yet, the Thunder have become the Western Conference’s top-seeded team for the past three years partly because of their depth and continuity. The Spurs’ presence alone complicates that discussion.

After cementing a consecutive MVP season as a three-level scorer, playmaker, and yes, free-throw merchant, Gilgeous Alexander looked remarkably ineffective against the Spurs. He averaged 25.9 points while shooting only 40.9% from the field and 28.6% from deep along with 8.9 assists and 3.1 turnovers per game. That’s a sharp dropoff from his regular-season averages in points per game (31.1), shooting percentage (55.3%), 3-point shooting (38.6) and turnovers (2.2).

The Thunder rightfully are invested in Gilgeous-Alexander. So, that’s not the issue. The issue is whether Gilgeous-Alexander fully has the right supporting cast around him. Gilgeous-Alexander partly compensated for inefficient shooting performances by leaning on his supporting cast. But that wasn’t always a dependable formula. Jalen Williams missed Game 7 after his left hamstring left him largely limited in availability and play throughout the postseason. Ajay Williams missed the past four games with a strained right calf.

No question, those injuries could have made the difference. Then again, the Thunder easily absorbed overlapping injuries throughout the 2025-26 season. That partly happened because Thunder center Chet Holmgren dominated as a versatile scorer and a dependable rim protector. Not against Wembanyama, though. Wembanyama made the first-time All-Star look like an anonymous role player. It only gave Wembanyama more conviction to sneer at the comparisons since entering the NBA a year after Holmgren did.

Because of that development, it only makes sense for the Thunder to include Holmgren in a trade package for Antetokounmpo shortly before his max extension kicks in next season. The Thunder have multiple draft picks (No. 12, No. 17, No. 37). And the Thunder have to weigh whether they want to exercise team options on a physical defender (Lu Dort), a two-way backup big (Isaiah Hartenstein), an emerging defender (Kenrich Williams) and a rising young star (Jared McCain).

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić and Antetokounmpo are likely the only centers that can win a head-to-head matchup against Wembanyama. Jokić has no answer for him defensively, but he can produce a triple double against him. But Antetokounmpo can better challenge Wembanyama at the rim both as a scorer and defender.

Nonetheless, the Thunder face risks with pursuing Antetokounmpo instead of developing from within. Though the Thunder’s identity will start with Gilgeous-Alexander, Antetokounmpo thrives best with elite shooters around him. Otherwise, his limitations become exposed. After dealing with a strained right calf throughout the 2025-26 season, the 31-year-old Antetokounmpo will likely struggle with his durability in future seasons. The Thunder are mindful that the Bucks missed the playoffs last season and labored through three consecutive first-round defeats partly because they didn’t have the right talent around Antetokounmpo.

Perhaps that just compels Presti to remain more pragmatic and bolster positional rotation needs instead of attempting a huge swing. Meanwhile, the Thunder can further lean on their touted player development program that partly explains their current title-contending status.

That will entail ensuring that Holmgren continues to bulk up and expand his versatility so he can at least challenge Wembanyama. That will involve giving Williams the best chance to improve his durability after becoming a key factor for the Thunder’s NBA title run in 2025. That will also entail Gilgeous-Alexander further leaning into his well-rounded game so that he can produce more efficiently.

Regardless of the offseason path that they take, the Thunder should not operate as if they easily could have advanced past the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. They should view the Spurs as a rival that just started their championship trajectory.