The next thunder? The future dark horses that copy miracle?

For NBA teams, most of them have a natural cycle from bad formation to successful championship success. Rebuilding, accumulating, and bursting are the processes that every team must go through. In the 2024-25 season, the Thunder have perfectly completed this championship path.

Looking back, the Thunder's success is almost a reconstruction textbook worth learning in the entire league:

Relying on Paul George's trade, he exchanged for Alexander and a lot of first-round picks, picked up Isaiah Joe from the abandoned market, and Josh Giddy exchanged for Caruso, who had both offense and defense, and seized the opportunity to win the inside power in the free market.

The step-by-step operation seems inconspicuous, but it is connected at the last moment. When the core lineup is truly mature, it decisively presses the championship button, converting the chips accumulated over the years into the championship combat power, and truly fulfilling them from a young team that is favored into a champion.

But the question is, can other teams copy the script that belongs to the Thunder?

Judging from the answer, it is difficult to copy completely, but there are still parts worth imitating. After all, MVP-level transactions are not available every day, but when other teams see this method that can win championships, there will naturally be more teams willing to try to hoard assets and then wait for future championship opportunities.

Then the question is, which teams have the most wealthy background in the current league? What other opportunities are there to complete a counterattack in a short time in the future? Below, let's take a look at the potential teams with the richest asset inventory in the league:

Fifth: Charlotte Hornets

Major assets: 2026 Hornets first round, 2027 Mavericks first round (top two protections), 2027 Heat first round (Lotto protection), Lamelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Con Knuppel;

When you only won 67 games in three years, basically the Hornets have nothing to sell.

Regarding the current situation of the Hornets, they do have a few decent puzzles on their hands. No. 2 Brandon Miller performed amazingly in the rookie year in 2023, and Lamelo Ball can also hand over gorgeous data when he is healthy. But the reality is that Miller was hit by injury in the second year, and he only played 105 games in the past three years. There are more and more doubts about him. Is he the core of the team or the data brush of the bad team?

In addition, 2025 Tanhua Knuppel is also a potential stock worth looking forward to. The three-person combination at least ensures that the Hornets have chips to put on the negotiating table. In addition, Bridges, Sexton, Green, Grey and other combat power chips in the team can not only serve as a supplementary chip for trading, but also become an operation to clear the space.

In addition, they also hold the Mavericks and the Heat's future first round, and the Hornets have a full chance to become a possible future dark horse in the league. As long as the management makes up their minds, they have a full chance to quickly rebuild in the next few years.

Fourth: Brooklyn Nets

Main assets: 2026 Nets' first round, 2029 Knicks' first round, 2031 Knicks' first round, 2032 Nuggets' first round, Clarkston, a lot of salary space;

From the offseason, the Nets' attitude is very clear, they just want to completely rebuild.

Although there are immediate combat rotations such as Clarkston, Mann, Porter Jr., and Highsmith on the team list, more players are still young rookies. They won five first-round rookies at one time in the draft, which is clearly to hoard potential stocks.

At present, they have two biggest chips: one is their first round in 2026, and the other is a salary space of up to 15 million, which basically allows other teams to list the Nets as their preferred next home while clearing contracts.

In addition, Clarkston is also a high-quality bargaining chip, especially his four-year, decreasing structured contract of 97 million yuan, whose annual salary will be lower and lower in the next three years. When a team needs to strengthen the inside, this will be an excellent trading recruitment target. Let’s look at the long-term bargaining chips: the Knicks’ unprotected first round in 2029 and 2031, and the Nuggets’ unprotected first round in 2032. If the Knicks and the Nuggets begin to decline in the future, the value of these signing positions is likely to rise sharply.

Although the Nets are not competitive at the moment, their operating space is enough, and they can vaguely see the shadow of the next thunder.

Third: San Antonio Spurs

Main assets: 2027 Hawks' first round, 2030 Timberwolves/Mavericks' first round, 2031 Kings' swap rights, Castle, Dylan Harper, Wassell

For the Spurs, their only core goal is to protect the Wenban and build a complete lineup around him.

Fortunately, the Spurs have a very rich asset library, with seven first rounds in the next seven years. The most noteworthy of the Hawks' unprotected first round in 2027 and the best signings among the Timberwolves, Mavericks and their own teams in 2030. In addition, there are 16 second rounds as trading supplement chips. In terms of players, the Spurs have two top potential stocks, 2024 Tanhua Castle and 2025 No. 2 Harper. In theory, the Spurs can fully present the future core blueprint of "literary class + double new stars", but the problem is that if the team wants to speed up, Castle and Harper are likely to become the first choice victims.

The Spurs offered Fox a maximum salary this summer, gradually showing their choice to accelerate reconstruction. But if Fox stays on the team, whether Castle and Harper are still in the long-term plan is the choice that the Spurs management must face.

But it is certain that the Spurs story has just begun.

Second: Oklahoma City Thunder

Main assets: 2027 Clippers swap rights, 2028 Mavericks swap rights, 2029 Nuggets first round (top five protections), Carson Wallace, Nikola Topic

As the new champion, the Thunder's future is also worth looking forward to.

They have locked the three young cores of Alexander, Jewish and Chet with a long appointment, and have as many as 13 future first rounds at the same time. It’s just that the core of winning the championship has been decided, the value of your subsequent signing will naturally decline.

But in addition, they still have some excellent chips in their hands: the exchange rights of the Clippers and the Mavericks, the Nuggets' top five protection signs in 2029, and the young lottery show Wallace and Topic, and combined with medium-sized contracts such as Harten and Dorte, the Thunder are fully capable of launching another big deal at a certain point in the future.

It is just a reality that the Thunder does not need to rush forward. Since they have won the championship, this Thunder can completely adapt to changes, stabilize the lineup, and wait for the young core to grow.

This is also the reason why they rank second in this list.

First: Houston Rockets

Main assets: 2027 Suns' first round, 2029 Suns' first round, 2029 Mavericks' first round, Shepard, Tari Ethan

As for the team with the strongest background, it is naturally the Houston Rockets' turn.

The Rockets do not have the number of draft picks like the Thunder, but their chip advantage lies in the quality of the product outweighs the quantity. There are 8 first rounds in the next seven years, including the completely unprotected first round of the Suns in 2027 and 2029, and the unprotected first round of the Mavericks in 2029. The future of the Sun and the Mavericks is unstable, and the potential value of these lottery tickets is still worth looking forward to.

In terms of the player lineup, the Rockets chose to trade Jaylen Green, and successively signed up for Shin Kyung and Smith, and the core framework gradually took shape. Amen Thompson basically determined the team's non-selling position, and there are two potential stocks, Shepard and Ethan.

And at the contract level, VanVleet has 25 million, Adams has 14.1 million, and Finney Smith has 12.7 million, all three are very suitable for making up transactions. In short, the Rockets, which hold a lot of chips, are basically the ideal next home for any team to sell superstars.

Summary, Thunder has proved with reality that as long as the reconstruction route is patient enough and the chips are accumulated appropriately, one day it will be able to win. The above five teams each have their own confidence and their own hidden worries. But what can be expected is that their names will be repeatedly mentioned in the trading market in the next two or three years.

As for who can become the next thunder? Let's wait and see next.