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Why the Oklahoma City Thunder's championship window is wide open

Oklahoma City became the youngest team to win a playoff series on April 28. What does the future hold for this Thunder group? Photo by Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images

When the Oklahoma City Thunder completed a sweep of the New Orleans Pelicans in April, they became the youngest NBA team ever to win a playoff series, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

With Oklahoma City's most experienced player -- midseason addition Gordon Hayward -- held scoreless in the first round, the Thunder managed to win four playoff games by an average of 15.8 PPG with just one basket from a player older than age 25 (fringe reserve Kenrich Williams).

In a league where top contenders that went all-in on expensive rosters are crashing out of the playoffs early, a scary future awaits the rest of the league as the Thunder still have up to seven first-round picks coming from other teams between now and 2030 -- plus a variety of options to swap their first-round picks for more favorable ones.

As a result, Oklahoma City's window for championship contention looks as wide open as any team in recent NBA history. Let's look back at the surprisingly uneven history of teams in a similar situation as the current Thunder, and how Oklahoma City is poised to avoid their missteps.