The impressive historical record within reach for the Oklahoma City Thunder

Waiting for the All-Star break to end, it has become clear that the Oklahoma City Thunder appear to be the best team in the NBA. They hold an eight-game lead over the Memphis Grizzlies for the top seed in the Western Conference. Despite the extended absences of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, the team has won most of their games, and by large margins. With 28 games left in the regular season, they are on the verge of breaking a new NBA record.

The Thunder are not on pace to achieve the best record in NBA history. In fact, with a 44-10 record, they already have more losses than the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, who went 73-9. Nevertheless, Oklahoma City is still on track to have the best points difference in NBA history.

In their first 54 games, the Thunder are averaging 117.8 points while allowing 104.9 points. They outscore their opponents by 12.93 points per game. If they can maintain a similar pace in their remaining 28 games, they will finish with the best points difference in NBA history. Nearly a third of their wins (14) have been by more than 20 points. Only eight of their victories have been by fewer than 10 points. Oklahoma City's largest margin of victory came on January 12 when they defeated the Washington Wizards by 41 points.

Surprisingly, it took the Thunder 54 games to lose a game by more than 11 points. In their most recent road game on February 13, they fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves by 116-101. Otherwise, their other nine losses have been by two, 11, two, six, three, seven, eight, six, and seven points.

It's even more remarkable that they've done this with Holmgren being out of the lineup so often. The 22-year-old, arguably their second-best player, has only played in 13 of Oklahoma City's first 54 games. The lanky player missed 39 consecutive games from November 11 to February 5 due to a right iliac fracture.

The Los Angeles Lakers in Focus

If the season ended today, the Thunder's +12.93 points per game difference would be the best in NBA history. Will they finish the season at the top of the list?

The best points per game difference in a full season belongs to the Los Angeles Lakers. During the 1971-72 season, they outscored their opponents by 12.28 points per game. They ended the regular season with a 69-13 record and won the NBA Finals, defeating the New York Knicks in five games.

In total, the Lakers scored 1,007 points more than their opponents. In their first 54 games, the Thunder have outscored their opponents by 698 points. This means that to surpass Los Angeles, they would have to score 310 more points than their opponents in the remaining 28 games. This would result in the Thunder ending the year with a points differential of +11.07 in their remaining schedule.

The next game for the Thunder will be on Friday, February 21 against the Utah Jazz (13-41). Oklahoma City has 13 home games and 15 away games left.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, El impresionante récord histórico que tienen a tiro los Oklahoma City Thunder