Kirby Smart has made it a point to study great teams and programs during his tenure at Georgia. To be the best, it helps to learn from the best.

Be it Nike or the New Zealand national rugby team, Smart has leaned on iconic brands to teach his team about what is needed to be great.

This offseason, Smart had his team study the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Despite being a small-market NBA team, Oklahoma City is the model franchise at the moment. The Thunder won the NBA championship in 2025 after going 68-14.

“You need to it study how other people are doing it and maybe the ways they’re doing it in creating roles for others.” Smart said at SEC media days. “It’s very unique what the Thunder was doing, especially when they won the championship in terms of leading in so many categories, but most importantly selflessness. That’s what we try to emulate.”

So with Georgia leaning on the Thunder, it’s hard to ignore the many crossovers between the two.

They both have great chief executives, a DNA built on toughness and a polarizing engine driving the on-field results.

Head coach Kirby Smart — OKC Thunder Executive Vice President & General Manager Sam Presti

Smart has turned Georgia into a consistent winner, while Presti has been able to reinvent the Thunder after losing star pieces like Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

Both excel when it comes to talent acquisition, but they have a keen eye for parts that work well together.

The 2024-25 NBA title validated Presti as one of the great general managers of the 21st century. Smart is the lone coach to win back-to-back national titles in the College Football Playoff era.

Defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann — OKC Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault

While Smart and Presti get much of the praise, the jobs done by Schumann and Daigneault often get overlooked.

Critics will wonder how difficult a job both have given the amount of assets at their disposal. But given the year-in, year-out success Schumann and Daigneault have had, it’s difficult to say they’re not good at what they do.

Quarterback Gunner Stockton — OKC Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Gilgeous-Alexander won the MVP before leading the Thunder to a championship. Stockton finished seventh in Heisman Trophy voting a season ago.

Neither has the most conventional game, and both had their fair share of detractors.

Stockton will have to elevate his game to win a championship. Gilgeous-Alexander did so during the 2024-25 season.

Running back Nate Frazier — OKC Thunder forward Jalen Williams

Frazier and Williams both have strong pedigrees, as the former was a top recruit and the latter was a lottery pick.

Williams emerged as a standout second option on the offensive side of the ball, easing pressure on Gilegeous-Alexander.

Stockton is going to need help in the passing game, but a monster season from Frazier would ease the burden on the Georgia quarterback.

Frazier has the ability to be Georgia’s best offensive player. The Bulldogs need to be able to lean on the talented junior running back when necessary.

Linebacker Chris Cole — OKC Thunder center Chet Holmgren

Ignore for a second what happened to Holmgren in the 2026 Western Conference Finals against Victor Wembanyama.

Holmgren unlocked the Thunder, giving it an elite defense. Holmgren is athletic enough to defend on the outside while protecting the rim.

Cole can do the same for Georgia’s defense. He’s capable of dropping back into coverage, but Georgia is going to need him to improve as a pass rusher if the Bulldogs are to reach their ceiling.

Holmgren put on a defensive master-class in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, as he finished with 5 blocks.

Cole needs to have a similar dominant performance in the College Football Playoff if Georgia is to win a title this season.

Wide receiver Isiah Canion — OKC Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein

Oklahoma City made a rare free agent addition to get some rebounding help. Hartenstein helped cover Oklahoma City’s most glaring weakness as he led the Thunder in rebounding.

Canion can do the same for Georgia this season. The Bulldogs like what they’ve seen from the wide receiver thus far, but he’s going to need to produce on the field if Georgia can answer its biggest question.

Defensive back Khalil Barnes — OKC Thunder guard Alex Caruso

Oklahoma City prefers to build through the draft, but it traded for Caruso prior to the 2024-25 season.

That move brought in championship experience to a young team, as Caruso won an NBA championship with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Barnes didn’t do the equivalent with Clemson, but he is a multiyear starter who has College Football Playoff experience. The Georgia secondary does have some holes to fill and the Bulldogs hope his veteran know-how helps.

Center Drew Bobo — OKC Thunder guard Lu Dort

Dort was an undrafted free agent who turned himself into the embodiment of Oklahoma City’s on-court culture.

Bobo arrived at Georgia as a 3-star recruit, yet he’s become one of Georgia’s best players.

Bobo and Dort are known for their physicality, so much so with Dort that he’s developed a reputation as a dirty player.

But both players epitomize what Georgia and Oklahoma City are all about.

Wide receiver Talyn Taylor — OKC Thunder guard Cason Wallace

Taylor was a former 5-star recruit, while Wallace was a lottery pick. The latter began to play like it during his breakout season, something he couldn’t do the year before when Oklahoma City lost in the playoffs to the Dallas Mavericks.

A collarbone injury prevented Taylor from being a bigger piece of Georgia’s offense last season.

If the Bulldogs are to make a deeper run in the College Football Playoff this season, Taylor will need to become a key part of the Georgia offense. Not dissimilar to Wallace becoming a meaningful piece of Oklahoma City’s playoff rotation.