OKC Thunder seal top spot in West with full playoff home advantage
Quick Reads
- The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the LA Clippers 128-110 on Wednesday night to clinch the NBA’s best regular-season record.
- Chet Holmgren led all scorers with 30 points and 14 rebounds; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 20 points and 11 assists.
- OKC secures the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed for the third consecutive season, locking in home-court advantage throughout the entire postseason.
- The Thunder finish the season at 64-16, combining with last year’s 68-win campaign to reach 132 wins over two seasons, the fourth-best two-season total in NBA history.
- San Antonio Spurs (61-19) are confirmed as the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed after being unable to close the gap on Oklahoma City.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have made it three in a row. A commanding 128-110 victory over the LA Clippers in Inglewood on Wednesday night secured OKC the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed and home-court advantage for every round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs, including the Finals.
The Thunder went wire-to-wire this season atop the toughest conference in basketball. Sitting at 64-16, they enter the postseason not just as defending NBA champions, but as the team with the best record in the entire league. The Detroit Pistons lead the Eastern Conference at 58-22, leaving Oklahoma City comfortably clear as the NBA’s top side.
Chet Holmgren was unstoppable from the opening tip. The Thunder centre dropped 24 points in the first half alone, helping Oklahoma City build a 25-point lead that they never surrendered. He finished with 30 points and 14 rebounds. Shai Gilgeous Alexander, in his characteristic fashion, did not need the fourth quarter, he sat it out after recording 20 points and 11 assists. It was his 141st consecutive game with at least 20 points, extending a record that has now become one of the defining storylines of this NBA era. Jalen Williams contributed 18 points in support.
The Clippers gave their fans something to cheer, with Kawhi Leonard posting 20 points, his 56th straight game at that mark, and Brook Lopez adding 16 off the bench. But OKC’s defence was suffocating throughout, allowing no fast-break field goals and shooting 58.1% at the other end. There was no path back for Los Angeles.
For the Thunder, this result was not just about Wednesday night. It was the punctuation mark on a remarkable stretch: seven wins in a row, 19 victories in their last 20 games, and a season that mirrors the dynasty-level consistency of the mid-1990s Chicago Bulls. Oklahoma City’s 132 wins across the past two seasons are the fourth most in any two-season span in NBA history, the 1995-96 and 1996-97 Bulls hold the record at 141. Coach Mark Daigneault kept perspective after the final whistle: Now obviously we go to the playoffs, and it’s a blank slate. This doesn’t carry over, but it is good to have home court. And it’s good to have a little bit of momentum from the season.
The San Antonio Spurs, despite an extraordinary 18-2 run since February and a 61-win season, could not bridge the gap to Oklahoma City. They are confirmed as the West’s second seed.
By the Numbers
- Final score: Oklahoma City Thunder 128, 110 LA Clippers
- Holmgren: 30 points, 14 rebounds (24 pts in the first half)
- Gilgeous Alexander: 20 points, 11 assists, 141st consecutive 20-point game
- Williams: 18 points
- Leonard (LAC): 20 points, 56th consecutive 20-point game
- OKC field goal %: 58.1%
- Fast-break field goals allowed: 0
- Thunder record: 64-16 (7-game win streak; 19-1 in last 20)
- Two-season wins (OKC, 2024-25 & 2025-26): 132, 4th in NBA history
- Spurs record: 61-19, locked into West’s No. 2 seed
- Pistons record (East leaders): 58-22
