Reconstruction took only 3 years! The Thunder Rockets top two in the West three years ago, and top two in the West last season

In the 21-22 season, the Suns scored 64 wins and 18 losses under the leadership of Paul, not only setting the best record in team history, but also ranking first in the West and first in the league. At the same time, the Thunder only won 24 wins, while the Rockets only won 20 wins, ranking second to last in the West and last respectively.

And last season's regular season, the Thunder achieved an impressive record of 68 wins and 14 losses, which also set a new team record and ranked first in the West. Although the Rockets have 16 wins less than the Thunder, they are ranked second in the West with a record of 52 wins and 30 losses.

In other words, in just three years, the Thunder and Rockets successfully completed the reconstruction, from top two in the West to top two in the West. Not only that, the Thunder reached the finals last season and successfully won the championship. Although they also reached the finals in 2012, they failed to win the championship.

About 10 years ago, the Rockets and the Thunder were both top teams in the Western Conference, and they both competed for the championship and reached the Western Conference Finals more than once. If they can reach the finals smoothly, they all have hope of winning the championship. However, after entering the 1920s, the Thunder and Rockets began to decline and entered the reconstruction period one after another. After the Thunder traded George and Westbrook in the summer of 2019, they were preparing to completely rebuild, but under the leadership of Paul, they still achieved excellent results in 2020 and made it to the playoffs. However, the Thunder are still determined to rebuild, so they traded Paul to the Suns. After the Suns got Paul, they immediately reached the finals and scored 64 wins in the second season.

The Rockets exchanged Westbrook from Paul in the summer of 2019, but the second collaboration between Harden and Westbrook also ended in failure. In 2020, Westbrook and Harden also left the Rockets one after another, and the Rockets were forced to rebuild. The reason why the Thunder and Rockets rank among the top two in the West in 2022 is because they are both in the reconstruction period and their lineup is very weak.

However, during the reconstruction period, the Thunder and Rockets both gained a large number of high-ranking rookies, which is also an important reason why they can complete the reconstruction quickly. The Thunder's reconstruction progress is also faster than the Rockets. They scored 57 wins in 2024, ranking first in the West. The Rockets only won more than 50 wins last season and returned to the playoffs. Unfortunately, because of lack of experience, they were beaten by the Warriors in the first round. But the Rockets have made significant reinforcements this summer and have also obtained the superstar Durant, and will also launch an attack on the championship next season. It is worth mentioning that the third young master of the Thunder have not only played for the Thunder, but now they have also played for the Rockets.