What do OKC Thunder think of comparisons to 73-9 Warriors?

The comparisons are inescapable. What the Oklahoma City Thunder could do in the 2020s can be similar to what the Golden State Warriors did in the 2010s.

Dominating the NBA en route to an NBA championship? Check. Superstar point guards that have taken over the league by storm? Check. Two ascending stars to complement your franchise player? Check. Head coach that most view as one of the sharpest minds? Check.

The Thunder are the reigning NBA champions. And they look primed to go back-to-back. They've one-upped their historic season last year with an unreal 21-1 start. Doing some quick math, they could threaten the Warriors' 73-9 record that they set in the 2015-16 regular season.

None of OKC's star players were in the league when that happened. All were still in high school. What did they think of Golden State's dominance? Here's what the Thunder players said about the comparisons between that team and theirs after they collected a 124-112 win over the veteran squad:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

"It's pretty clear as day they changed basketball forever. Not a lot of people get to say that, but they changed the way the game is played in terms of small ball, the shooting, the pace, the possessions, the types of actions. All of it. They not only won. They dominated and reinvented the wheel, which is something not a lot of people can say they've done. They've done things we all hope and dream to do with the game."

Jalen Williams

"You look back like I'm watching them when we were stuck in Santa Cruz for COVID, and just my whole college career, you watch them and now we're kinda emulating something that they were doing, it's really cool and special. And then we also get to play some of the players that were on that run, so you never take it for granted. Obviously, Dray and Curry, they're not gonna be playing for that much longer, so it's cool to get these opportunities to play them. It's very surreal."

Chet Holmgren

"Obviously, they're a really good team with unbelievable talent, great coaching. They were fun to watch because they really pushed the limits of basketball, in terms of all the different things they can do on the floor, how much talent they had. But I think comparison is a lot of times a disservice to both parties. We're just tryna be our own team. We're tryna accomplish our own things over here. We're still young. We have a long ways to go. We have to keep improving. But I definitely think that no matter what, we're kinda tryna pave our own path."

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: What do OKC Thunder think of comparisons to 73-9 Warriors?