Podcast: Revisiting Brandon's 26 Statements Made with Extreme Confidence
The Daily Thunder Podcast
The 2026-27 season is right around the corner, and what better way to get primed for the next season of Thunder basketball than to revisit Brandon's 26 Statements Made with Extreme Confidence made just before the 2025-2026 season.
Plus, Brandon and John discuss the Kawhi Leonard punishment, Cason Wallace's extension, and how to watch the Thunder this upcoming season.
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26 Statements Made With Extreme Confidence
Brandon Rahbar’s annual predictions for the 2025-26 Thunder season, guaranteed to all come true.
Brandon Rahbar
- Shai and company: The repeat-MVP call, Chet's awards haul, and how injuries scrambled the JDub predictions.
- Chet versus Wemby: Playoff narratives, the rivalry's next chapter, and the slow-motion scrutiny of Shai's foul calls.
- Clippers consequences: John and Brandon weigh the team punishment, Kawhi's lighter penalty, and the Thunder's pick-swap outlook.
- Cason's next deal: A possible starting role and the gap between winning impact, box-score numbers and extension money.
- Watching the Thunder: The new viewing package, national-game exclusions, and the appeal of the season's introductory offer.
And much more!
The Conversation: Excerpts and full transcript
Shai keeps improving
John: You're one for one so far. Number two: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will repeat as NBA MVP. Nailed it.
Brandon: People don't want to give it to MVP winners back to back. I just felt like this dude improves every single season. Shai comes back every season even stronger. I'm happy about that one. Stop the count.
Ajay's breakout, even with the injuries
John: Next one: Ajay Mitchell will be the Thunder Breakout Player of the Year. How would you grade yourself on this one?
Brandon: I think that counts. I think he was. Had Ajay not had the injuries, I think he would have been Sixth Man of the Year. Before he got hurt the first time, he was on that trajectory. People were talking Sixth Man of the Year. People were talking Most Improved Player of the Year.
John: I'm giving you a check mark on this one. Ajay Mitchell was absolutely clutch for the Thunder last year and arguably one of the four or five best players on the team, or most important players on the team. I would definitely consider him a breakout.
Jared McCain: a prediction Brandon was happy to miss
John: Number 17: the Thunder will not trade for an impact rotational player at the trade deadline. I'm going to say they got an impact rotational player around the deadline.
Brandon: I am happy to have whiffed on this one. Jared McCain, absolutely. When that trade came across, when I got the Shams notification, I was like, 'Wow.' I was very high on Jared McCain coming into that draft. Then he had that great rookie season before he ended up having to miss the rest of the season due to injury. He was working back from a couple of injuries last year when the Thunder traded for him. But it fits: he's young. He fits the culture. Shooting is always a need.
I thought it was a really exciting and underrated move. With all the trades last year, you could argue that ended up being the most impactful playoff move that a contender made. And he's a piece going forward. He's a young rotational piece, high upside, very exciting. So very happy to have missed on that.
Topić's comeback and the talent still there
John: Number 19: Topić will cause NBA reporters to tweet something along the lines of, 'This is why he was a projected top-five pick.'
Brandon: I would say I probably missed that. When I wrote that, I didn't know he was going to be diagnosed with testicular cancer and have to go through the three rounds of chemotherapy. I think the Nikola Topić story, his resiliency and strength and will to come back and play, was incredible last year. I think it was actually one of the best NBA stories of the year.
When I wrote that, I thought he would get more playing time and more minutes. I didn't know he'd be coming back from that. But when he was playing in those G League games, I think all of us were like, 'See, this is why.' He flashed that playmaking, the driving to the rim. He was shooting well from three. I think he played very well and popped. I don't know what I give myself on that one, but I was just happy to see Topić come back. He did flash that talent that all the draft analysts saw in him coming into that draft.
Still rooting hard for Topić, and he definitely has the talent.
The Cavaliers pick and a little help with the grading
John: Back-to-back, very painful predictions. Number 25: the Thunder will beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals and repeat as champions.
Brandon: Wow. The Cavs? What? Are you sure that's not a misprint or a typo?
John: It was your typo, if it's a typo. If you made a typo of 'Cleveland Cavaliers,' you had to make a typo with a bunch of letters in a row.
Your final tally is: you got 12 right, 11 wrong, and I gave you three incompletes.
Brandon: So I had an overall positive record. Over .500.
Who should pay for the Clippers' cheating?
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