The Oklahoma City Thunder's championship pursuit took a dramatic and depressing turn on Sunday, with both Jalen Williams (dislocated ankle; fractured fibula) and Cason Wallace (torn labrum) suffering potentially season-ending injuries.

BREAKING: Oklahoma City's Jalen Williams has a dislocated left ankle and fractured fibula; Cason Wallace has a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Both will undergo surgery and be sidelined for several months -- most, if not the entire season. pic.twitter.com/62OxZtIGRc

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 26, 2026

OKC has a superpower — depth — and their season is not remotely over. This does, however, open the door for more teams to realistically challenge the preseason title favorites. Let's overreact to a few small samples, do our best to keep a straight head and rank the 10 biggest championship threats in the NBA after a transformative first week.

Honorable mentions: Detroit Pistons, Miami Heat, Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks

10. Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics aren't off to the most inspiring start, but Paul George is clearly an additive player still, which comes as no surprise. Jayson Tatum struggled mightily against Detroit on opening day, but plenty of stars "struggle against Detroit." He turned around and torched the Knicks a couple nights later. Boston has a proven regular-season formula under Joe Mazzulla; this team will defend, crash the glass and spam 3s, which will succeed more often than it doesn't.

Whether the Celtics can get into the paint, collapse a defense and create easy looks when the game slows down in the playoffs, however, remains to be seen. Jaylen Brown was their best rim pressure creator, and he's in Philly now.

9. Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers basically revamped the 2024 Mavericks formula around Luka Dončić, and so far it looks pretty good. L.A. probably gave up way too much for Walker Kessler in a vacuum, but he couldn't ask for a better pick-and-roll partner than Dončić. Austin Reaves isn't too far behind on that list either.

So long as Kessler is healthy, the Lakers should muster a good enough defense to support what promises to be a top-five offense all season long. Their depth is concerning; one-way pieces like Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams are harder to scheme for in the playoffs. But Dončić and Reaves are killers, and J.J. Redick has proven himself to be a creative problem-solver on the sidelines.

8. Philadelphia 76ers

It's hard to know exactly what to feel about the Philadelphia 76ers' 3-1 start to the campaign. Comeback wins over New York and Cleveland to begin the season were electric. Philadelphia looks like the best third quarter team in the country after struggling after the break for basically the entire Joel Embiid era.

That said, Philadelphia's bench is already stretched extremely thin due to injuries. The eventual returns of Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker can and will help, but the Sixers face an uphill battle to keep their shiny new core healthy and energized for an entire 82-game gambit, plus a rigorous playoff run. The Sixers are also completely out of sorts with the half-court offense right now, especially when Embiid sits. There are a lot of variables in a deep and unforgiving conference.

7. Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors couldn't script a more ominous week-one omen than Kawhi Leonard's mysterious "knee swelling," which kept him out of Sunday's blowout loss to Minnesota. That said, Toronto has the pieces to potentially operate as the best defensive team in the NBA this season. Scottie Barnes has already proven himself as a defensive backbone, while Collin Murray-Boyles is wreaking absolute havoc off the bench.

If the Raptors can deliver Kawhi to the postseason at full strength, he's one of the best playoff risers of his generation. Leonard operates with a calmness and a surgicial precision that will really benefit Toronto in contrast to the Brandon Ingram experience last season. It all comes down to health, but the Raptors are deep, with a physical disposition that translates to playoff basketball.

6. Indiana Pacers

It has been a choppy start for the Indiana Pacers, but this was my preseason "I don't really know what to do" Finals pick out of the East. Tyrese Haliburton has adjusted nicely upon his return, with Pascal Siakam ever dependable as the second banana. Oddly enough, Ivica Zubac looks a bit lost on the defensive end, which should course-correct as the season goes on. Assuming Indy can figure out how to generate stops again, this offense will reach a point where it can really blow teams out of the water.

Relying so heavily on Haliburton a year after his Achilles injury is a gamble, and the Pacers probably have the most to prove of the East's so-called contenders. We need to see Indiana face a few real tests before we can better understand their place in the East hierarchy, but for now, my belief is steadfast.

5. Houston Rockets

I'll be the first to admit to potentially underrating the Houston Rockets coming into the year, just based on the low morale emanating from that locker room toward the end of last season. A first-round loss to the Dončić-less Lakers certainly did not help that perception. That said, Houston made a couple savvy moves in the offseason and, most importantly, got Fred VanVleet back from injury. The difference is already night and day, with VanVleet's table-setting skills so valuable in the backcourt.

Kevin Durant, Alperen Şengün and Jabari Smith Jr. are all on unsustainable heaters right now, and it's early. Very early. That said, Houston has a compelling blend of size and skill across the positional spectrum, with a game-wrecking defender in Amen Thompson and a potential breakout candidate in Reed Sheppard as their sixth man. The championship DNA is in place. The Rockets also have the trade flexibility to upgrade during the season, should the right opportunities materialize.

4. Minnesota Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves are the most fun team in basketball. Entertainment value does not always translate to postseason viability, and there are fair injury and physicality concerns when it comes to projecting LaMelo Ball in a playoff environment.

That said, Minnesota was already the clear third-best team in the West last season. Ball jacks up their offensive tempo and efficiency, while alleviating some of the pressure on Anthony Edwards. Rudy Gobert is a top-five defender in the world, even after all these years, and the Wolves' role players — Jaden McDaniels, Ayo Dosunmu, even Jonathan Kuminga — all appear bought-in to the stuff that matters. Minnesota is going to run teams into the ground. When the 3s aren't falling en masse, and if the game slows down, Edwards can grind out productive offense on his own. The Wolves' ceiling is absolutely a championship.

3. New York Knicks

Recent history tells us to bet the field over the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference, which I think is the correct mindset. Again, yours truly picked Indiana. The Knicks' 0-3 start really means nothing, though; it's much too early in the season to stick a fork in the reigning champs. This core just came together for the most dominant playoff run in ages after a stop-start regular season.

It's fair to question New York's depth. Landry Shamet, Jordan Clarkson and the like probably won't replicate last year's postseason heaters, and the Mitchell Robinson loss was a big one. Andre Drummond is not on that level as a backup and Karl-Anthony Towns is going to find himself in foul trouble more often than you'd like. That said, in terms of picking the "best" team in the East, New York's track record — and that rock-solid, cohesive starting five — keeps them in the driver's seat for now. A few more weeks of subpar play could change that, however.

2. San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs also made the NBA Finals and are also off to a slow start, to which we probably shouldn't overreact. Victor Wembanyama is the greatest defender in several generations and he's still 22, with another couple gears to reach offensively. The main challenge right now is navigating this three-guard lineup and the associated ego checks and sacrifices that are required.

De'Aaron Fox, Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle are all extremely talented and productive in a vacuum. Together, there's a lot of overlap without so many complementary attributes — at least on the offensive end. It will require patience, and it will require guys to willingly take a backseat and focus on other things. That said, San Antonio's defense and general youth should work in its favor.

1. Oklahoma City Thunder

All this, just to keep OKC at No. 1? Yes — for now, at least. That's not to say the Thunder are overwhelming favorites; not a single team in the NBA has a better than 50 percent chance to win the title right now. We aren't dealing with the halcyon days of the Steph Warriors or the LeBron James Heat. Again, I'd probably bet "the field" against OKC in the West and in the title race overall, just because that's the nature of the beast.

Losing Jalen Williams is huge. We saw it in the conference finals last season. He was the only real "big wing" type on this roster. Cason Wallace is not as important, but he's an All-Defense candidate and a helpful secondary creator. OKC still has Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren at the end of the day, however. Wallace's absence clears up more touches for Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain, both of whom can step into more expanded roles and thrive. The Thunder just have so many options up and down the roster, with a proven coach and a proven formula. They can weather this hellish storm better than any other team in the NBA.