Rashad McCants pushes Thunder title conspiracy theory

Rashad McCants is not a big believer in Oklahoma City Thunder this season. The former NBA veteran and current host of the popular show, Gil’s Arena, which stars himself, former NBA star Gilbert Arenas, and a host of other notable former basketball stars, isn’t at all surprised that the Thunder are struggling after a sensational start to the season.

Oklahoma City started the 2025-26 season 24-1the best start in NBA history. However, things have started to cool off lately, with the Thunder 8-6 in their last 14 games. They also significantly lost to the San Antonio Spurs in back-to-back games and they have lost against them in all three meetings this season. It took 21 points to beat the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.

McCants said the Thunder are drunk on “championship champagne” and detailed exactly what their flaws are as they look to defend as NBA champions for the first time.

“They’re basically drunk on championship champagne,” McCants said in a one-on-one interview. “I don’t think they made any changes, thinking they had a formula for success. The history of the game has proven that if you don’t change the roster after a championship, you’re doomed to not repeat the championship or even make it back to the finals, and I don’t think that team was even strong enough to dominate, as it seemed to be in other games. At full strength, they came into the season with the weakest schedule, so they still look like the champions to beat.”

McCants is basically making the argument that the Thunder — who were the best in the league 68-14 last season — looked better than they actually were due to injuries suffered by other NBA teams. There were significant injuries last season, especially during the NBA playoffs, but it was mostly on the Eastern Conference side, as the Boston Celtics lost Jayson Tatum and the Indiana Pacers lost Tyrese Halliburton. The Thunder were clearly responsible for the injury to Haliburton, who suffered a torn Achilles in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

The NBA as a whole – especially the Western Conference – seems to be stronger this season, with Kevin Durant moving to the Houston Rockets, making them one of the best teams in the West. Furthermore, Spurs are now a bona fide contender due to the continued development of Victor Wembanyama and a solid supporting cast of veterans and youngsters.

“Now we’re seeing these other teams that are really starting to hit their stride,” McCants said. “The NBA season is long, it’s tough, but it also gives you a chance to build chemistry and camaraderie over time. When you go back to the starting line after the All-Star break, you’re going to see teams that didn’t play well at the beginning start playing a lot better than they were before. OKC is going to be one of those teams that will play better for him.”

McCants — who spent four seasons in the NBA with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings — also claims the NBA has “built a product” that gives them ratings based on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to be one of the three or four stars in the league. He mentions his Nike endorsement and the fact that he plays in one of the smallest markets in the league in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City is one of the three smallest markets in the NBA.

“It’s just one of those things where the NBA marketed a product that got them viewership based on the fact that Shai-Gilgeez-Alexander was one of three, maybe one of four guys, who wanted to be the face of the league,” McCants said. “He’s a Nike guy and he’s one of those anomalies where, with OKC being a small-market team, an opportunity can come. Some guys don’t have to leave small-market situations, but you can’t fight the facts. The facts are you’ve got to reboot your roster. You’ve got to bring in different players for different seasons.”

We’ll see if McCants’ argument holds true when the playoffs come around, but the fact is the Thunder still hold the NBA’s best record at 33-7. In fact, their 82.5% win rate parallels last season’s 82.9% win percentage.

Their one Achilles heel has been against the likes of the Spurs, against whom they have gone 0-3 this season. We’ll see if the Thunder can overcome their struggles against San Antonio if they meet them in the playoffs.