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There can be only one.
Only one undefeated NBA team, that is, and it’s the Oklahoma City Thunder, the league’s defending champions.
On Sunday night, the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs lost for the first time this season, each dropping to 5-1.
The Bulls fell to the New York Knicks 128-116 at Madison Square Garden, even though Josh Giddey had a 23-point, 12-rebound, 12-assist triple-double and six other Bulls scored in double figures.
Losing is a downer, of course, but this Chicago team tied for the second-best start to a season in franchise history. The Bulls had not opened a season 5-0 since the 1996-97 Bulls — led by Michael Jordan, with Scottie Pippen as his lead running mate — won their first 12 games. The 1995-96 Bulls also started their season 5-0.
The Spurs lost to the Suns 130-118 in Phoenix. Victor Wembanyama scored nine points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field, collected nine rebounds and blocked four shots. Those may seem like un-Wembylike numbers — and it was an un-Wembylike performance — but keep in mind that Wembanyama picked up his fourth personal foul early in the third quarter and never found a rhythm.
No other team in Spurs franchise history had started a season with a 5-0 record.
Meanwhile, the Thunder continued their dominant start. The Thunder routed the winless New Orleans Pelicans 137-106 in Oklahoma City behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 30-point, seven-assist night.
The Thunder are 7-0 for the second consecutive season. They’re undefeated this time, even though swingman Jalen Williams, an All-NBA Third Team honoree last season, hasn’t played in a game yet because he’s recovering from surgery on his right wrist. Big man Chet Holmgren has missed three of the Thunder’s seven games because of a lower-back sprain.
This season’s Thunder once again ranks first in the NBA in defensive rating.
“It feels like we’re a better team,” Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters in Oklahoma City after Sunday’s victory. “It feels like we’ve had a year to get better, honestly. (The) personnel in the room hasn’t really changed much. (We) added a few rookies. But since the start of last year we’ve had a year to get better, play together, learn each other on and off the court, and it feels like we’ve had a head start in that this season. And, obviously, we’re dealing with some injuries to start the year. But because we’ve gotten better 1 through 15 (with the) guys in the locker room, we’re able to plug-and-play and figure it out on the fly and still have good results. So yeah, we’re definitely a better team than we were a year ago.”
Josh Robbins is a senior writer for The Athletic. He began covering the Washington Wizards in 2021 after spending more than a decade on the Orlando Magic beat for The Athletic and the Orlando Sentinel, where he worked for 18 years. His work has been honored by the Football Writers Association of America, the Green Eyeshade Awards and the Florida Society of News Editors. He served as president of the Professional Basketball Writers Association from 2014 to 2023. Josh is a native of the greater Washington, D.C., area. Follow Josh on X @JoshuaBRobbins
