OKLAHOMA CITY (USA) - Numerous players for defending NBA champions Oklahoma City, the first team to punch its ticket to a Conference Finals this season, have national team experience. In the table below, you can click on their names to check their complete FIBA player profile.
Thunder Player | Position | Country | Last Played FIBA Event |
|---|---|---|---|
Guard | Canada | 2024 Olympics | |
Guard | USA | 2019 World Cup Qualifiers | |
Guard | Canada | 2024 Olympics | |
Center | Germany | 2019 World Cup Qualifiers | |
Center | USA | 2021 U19 FIBA Basketball World Cup | |
Guard | USA | 2022 FIBA U18 AmeriCup | |
Guard | Belgium | EuroBasket 2022 Qualifiers | |
Guard | Serbia | 2023 FIBA U18 EuroBasket |
OKC completed a 4-0 sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday in the Western Conference Semi-Finals showdown and next face San Antonio or Minnesota.
After capturing last season's championship, the Thunder won 24 of their first 25 games this season to equal the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors for the best 25-game start to a campaign.
They settled for a Western Conference best 64 wins in the 2025-26 Regular Season.
There are plenty of Canadians rooting for Oklahoma City because national team stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort are Thunder linchpins.
SGA is in the running for a second consecutive NBA MVP Award.
There are other FIBA battles that Thunder players waged.
Less than five years ago, Chet Holmgren competed against Victor Wembanyama of France at the 2021 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup, and he scooped MVP honors after leading USA to the title.
After missing a lot of games last season because of injury, the wiry 2.16m (7ft 1in) Holmgren has played 69 regular season games and averaged 18.6 points and 9.1 rebounds in the playoffs.
Another standout this season has been Ajay Mitchell, who played on Belgium's youth national teams - the 2018 FIBA U16 European Championships Division B, the 2019 FIBA U18 European Championship Division B and the 2021 FIBA U20 European Challengers. Also in 2021, he made his debut for the senior team in the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 Qualifiers.
Mitchell has increased his 13.6 points per game average to 18.8 points per game in the postseason this year.
The Mark Daigneault-coached side also has two key men in Germany's Isaiah Hartenstein and USA's Alex Caruso, players with national team experience.
The future is bright for young Thunder guards Nikola Topic and Jared McCain. Topic, 20, of Serbia, was the MVP of the 2023 FIBA U18 EuroBasket after firing his country to the title. McCain helped USA win the 2022 FIBA AmeriCup.
The FIBA players were a part of a special Thunder regular season, one in which it finished with a Net Rating of 11.1, the eighth-highest mark in league history.
Great teams usually dominate this category. It's an indicator as to how much better the Thunder are than their opponents per 100 possessions.
San Antonio were second in Net Rating at 8.3, Detroit third at 8.2 and Boston fourth at 8.1. OKC's powerhouse offense and elite defense makes them elite.
FIBA