21-1! An epic trade! Lakers media exclaimed it has shaken the entire NBA.

Thunder beat Warriors 124-112, achieving a 13-game winning streak, holding a 21-1 record this season, topping both the West and the entire league, with their sole defeat caused by the Trail Blazers.

Thunder's statistics are as follows:

Warriors' statistics are as follows:

Lakers fan account LakeShowYo commented:"The Thunder currently stand at 21 wins and 1 loss, and the Clippers have destroyed the league."”

In the summer of 2019, the Clippers took a huge risk to acquire Paul George from the Thunder, sacrificing heavily in a 9-for-1 trade, giving up the following assets:

The 2021 Heat unprotected first-round pick, the 2022 Clippers unprotected first-round pick, the 2023 Heat top-14 protected pick, the 2023 first-round pick swap, the 2024 Clippers unprotected first-round pick, the 2025 first-round pick swap, the 2026 Clippers unprotected first-round pick, Gallinari, and Alexander.

Looking back now, the Clippers definitely lost out on this trade, but at the time it was reasonable. Remember, in the 18-19 season, Paul George averaged 28 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 2.2 steals per game, ranking third on both MVP and DPOY lists, and was named to the All-NBA First Team. It was absolutely worth betting heavily on Alexander, who was still a rookie, along with the other assets.

Trades are gambles; you must accept the outcome. Hindsight criticism is meaningless.

This season, Alexander is averaging an incredible 32.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game, shooting 54.8% from the field, hitting 2.2 three-pointers per game at 43.4%, and an 87.9% free throw rate (8.9/10.1). Many of these stats are career bests. At 27, he continues evolving and is becoming unstoppable.

If this trend continues, the Thunder could realistically surpass the Warriors’ 73-9 record set in the 15-16 season, and Alexander is a strong candidate to win MVP again next year.

It's a pity Alexander is Canadian, not American; otherwise, he would already be hailed as the new face of the NBA, yet his fame still falls far short of stars like LeBron, Durant, and Curry, which doesn't match his dominant performance.

So the question is, which team in today’s league is qualified to challenge the Thunder as defending champions? Or is there none at all?