Their top three players are all between the ages of 23 and 26, and none of them are going anywhere. Few teams in history have ever been this well-positioned for sustained winning, even if we exist in an era designed to discourage sustained winning.

During his time suiting up for the Thunder, Muscala wore only jersey Nos. 33 and 50, and put up 6.5 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.

Gilgeous-Alexander is the second active OKC player to grace the standard edition cover of NBA 2K. Kevin Durant did so for NBA 2K15, while Russell Westbrook was the cover athlete for EA Sports' NBA Live 16.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder was never too inexperienced after all. It was who it thought it was. An NBA champion.

With NBA franchise values skyrocketing, we’ve seen a number of teams hit the market in the last several years. Could the Thunder be next?