The Oklahoma City Thunder have a chance to make some more history when they host the Chicago Bulls on Monday.
The Thunder come into the game 27-1 against Eastern Conference opponents this season and another win would set an NBA record for most wins against an opposing conference in league history.
It’s just the latest shot at accomplishing the unprecedented for a team that has been setting high benchmarks much of the season.
Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the leading candidate for Most Valuable Player, has largely brushed off the benchmarks along the way, saying it doesn’t matter unless Oklahoma City is able to accomplish its ultimate goal of winning a championship.
Gilgeous-Alexander said general manager Sam Presti set that tone at the beginning of the 2022-23 season after Chet Holmgren, the No. 2 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, went down with an injury that kept him out the entirety of that season.
“Sam came in the first meeting of the year and said our destiny is ours to control and if we prioritize winning, we’ll win,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I think everyone received that message loud and clear and we’ve taken that and run with it these past few years and we’ve taken steps because of that.”
The Thunder (62-12) come into Monday’s game on a nine-game winning streak, still with a chance to become just the third team in NBA history to win 70 or more games in a season if they win out.
Oklahoma City is three wins away from breaking the franchise mark for most wins in a season, set in 1995-96 when the franchise was in Seattle.
Even after clinching the top spot in the Western Conference, the Thunder have continued to excel.
Their five wins since have come by an average of 19 points per game. Oklahoma City has won 48 games this season by double figures.
The Bulls (33-41) come into the game fighting for positioning in the Eastern Conference play-in race.
Chicago is tied with Miami for ninth place in the conference with the Bulls holding the tiebreaker with the Heat.
The Bulls have won four of their last five but are coming off a 120-119 loss to Dallas on Saturday.
Bulls coach Billy Donovan has been challenging his team to approach each game like it’s a playoff game down the stretch.
It doesn’t figure to be too hard to do that Monday in Oklahoma City.
“I would think from Atlanta to ourselves, to Orlando to Miami, every single game you’re jockeying there,” Donovan said. “We’ll all kind of bunched up together. All these games are like that. To be honest with you that’s the way we’ve been trying to treat it.”
Oklahoma City won the first meeting of the season between the team, 114-95, on Oct. 26 in Chicago.
Monday’s game will be the first game back in Oklahoma City for Josh Giddey, who spent his first three seasons with the Thunder before being traded over the offseason in a deal that brought Alex Caruso to Oklahoma City.
