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THE OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER

Happy parade day, Oklahoma City! Today, the Thunder celebrate their title with their hometown fans, one of my favorite traditions in sports and even more so for cities that have such close relationships with their teams.

Thunder fans aren't just celebrating a champion; they're celebrating an all-time great team. Brad Botkin dove into the numbers, including ...

• Botkin: "+1,247 -- This was Oklahoma City's total point differential for the regular and postseason combined, and it's also an NBA record. This number included: 63 wins by at least 10 points (most in NBA history); 40 wins by at least 15 points (most in NBA history); 12 wins by at least 30 points (most in NBA history); 4 playoff wins by at least 30 points (most in NBA history)."

Of course, starting now, the Thunder have a target on their back. Sam Quinn assessed the biggest challengers to Oklahoma City's ascending dynasty, and No. 1 isn't a single team or player but ...

• Quinn: "Chaos -- The world is a random and chaotic place. Basketball exemplifies that more than any other sport. ... Chet Holmgren is an obvious long-term injury risk, and Tyrese Haliburton is a stark reminder of how quickly and devastatingly a single injury can alter a team's trajectory. Jaylen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander don't seem like they are, but neither was Jayson Tatum before he went down. ... I don't know what it is that will ultimately threaten the Thunder. Nobody does. Just that history says it will be something."

That's why I encourage Thunder fans to embrace this. You can't control the future. But you can control how you appreciate the here and now.

???? Honorable mentions

???? And not such a good morning for ...

DEVIN BOOKER AND THE PHOENIX SUNS

Amid an absolutely bonkers NBA Sunday that included the Thunder's NBA title and the Kevin Durant trade, we didn't have much space to talk about the team that sent Durant to Houston: the Suns.

Phoenix is a tough spot. Really tough. Durant held all the cards in his deal, part of why Phoenix got a somewhat paltry return. Sure, Jalen Green can really score, Dillon Brooks is a great tone setter, and the No. 10 pick in this draft could turn out to be a solid contributor. But there's a reason this trade looks even worse for Phoenix the more you examine it, James Herbert explained. Well, three reasons specifically, all from 2023 right after Mat Ishbia took control:

• The Suns traded Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four first-round picks and a pick swap to the Nets in the Durant deal.
• After the season ended with a second-round loss, the Suns traded Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, five future second-round picks and four pick swaps in the Bradley Beal deal.
• They also traded for Jusuf Nurkic and Toumani Camara for Grayson Allen, Nassir Little and Keon Johnson as part of the deal that sent Damian Lillard to the Bucks.

It's impossible to qualify any of these as wins, and the first two were losses of epic proportions.

And now there's Devin Booker left over. Jasmyn Wimbish says Booker has every right to request a trade of his own.

Putting a bow on the Durant trade, I also loved Sam's diagnoses on what's next for the teams that missed out on Durant. That includes a team in his new state.

• Quinn: "Spurs -- They have two lottery picks in Wednesday's draft. They'll take Dylan Harper at No. 2. In a perfect world, they'd probably prefer to do with No. 14 what they did with No. 8 last year: trade it for more future assets. ... They are still extremely flexible from a cap perspective. ... Some shooting would be nice after they ranked 20th in 3-point percentage a year ago. They have more than enough room to sign a free agent that way, and then operate on the trade market without fear of paying the tax."

???? Not so honorable mentions

???? Celtics trade Jrue Holiday to Trail Blazers for Anfernee Simons, picks

We knew the Celtics of 2025-26 would look very different from the Celtics of the past two seasons, and that process began in earnest late Monday night, with Boston sending Jrue Holiday to the Trail Blazers for Anfernee Simons and a pair of future second-round picks.

Holiday, 35, was an instrumental part of the Celtics' 2024 title, but there were several reasons the Celtics had to make a move like this:

• Holiday makes $5 million more than Simons this season and has three more expensive years left. Simons is on an expiring contract.
• The Celtics are still about $18 million above the second apron, but they're hoping to get below that line entirely. More deals are coming.
• Simons, 26, is nearly a decade younger than Holiday, who posted his lowest points per game average since he was a rookie and played in just 62 games.

Though he's not the defender Holiday is, Simon is an explosive scorer (19.3 ppg in 2024-25) who can create for himself and, more importantly, be part of the Celtics' next core in the coming years if he plays well this coming season with Tatum sidelined. If not? He's on an expiring deal.

As such, the Celtics came out way ahead in Sam's trade grades, and he's also asking what the Trail Blazers saw in this move.

• Quinn: "The Thunder aren't going anywhere. The Rockets just traded for Kevin Durant. The Lakers are going to get a center. The Warriors have room to improve. The Clippers just had a major bounce-back season. Nikola Jokić still resides in Denver. The Timberwolves made back-to-back Western Conference finals. And if all that's not enough, Victor Wembanyama is looming ... The Blazers are ... probably a play-in team?"

???? NBA mock draft: Ace Bailey falling? Plus sleepers, deep dives

With the NBA Draft a day away, Adam Finkelstein's latest mock draft has arrived. We all know about Cooper Flagg to the Mavericks at No. 1, and Dylan Harper is the favorite to go No. 2 to San Antonio, as mentioned above. So let's start at No. 3, where the intrigue (likely) begins.

• 3. 76ers: SG Tre Johnson, Texas
• 4. Hornets: SG VJ Edgecombe, Baylor
• 5. Jazz: SF Kon Knueppel, Duke
• 6. Wizards: SF Ace Bailey, Rutgers
• 7. Pelicans: PG Jeremiah Fears, Oklahoma

We see Bailey fall here after a shaky (to put it nicely) pre-draft process of not working out for teams as he searches for his desired fit. He's a massive talent, and where he lands is arguably the biggest storyline.

As for guys under the radar, Kyle Boone has five sleepers whose stock could be rising, including ...

• Boone: "SF Drake Powell, North Carolina -- I still believe in Powell's talent ... and the peripherals of his profile are very encouraging. He was in the 81st percentile on catch-and-shoot opportunities at UNC and rated in the 84th percentile on finishing at the rim. ... All the while he routinely blew up plays on the defensive end with his energy and infectious enthusiasm as a wing weapon. I'm buying all the Powell stock and I think he'll be a steal if he falls anywhere in the 20s."

Here's more:

???? What we're watching Tuesday

⚾ Braves at Mets, 7:10 p.m. on TBS
???? Sparks at Sky, 8 p.m. on NBA TV
???? Fever at Storm, 10 p.m. on NBA TV