Over the past few seasons, the Oklahoma City Thunder have embarked on a historic tank job, garnering seemingly countless first round picks for the 2020s.
The Tides Are Turning In OKC:
In the 2020-21 and 2021-22 season, the team finished with 22 and 24 wins and either the worst or second worst offense in the entire league. It was seriously a struggle, but the Thunder expected and wanted that result in order for operation tank to be maximized.
This year, however, is not like the two most recent years for the Thunder. They have already matched their 24 wins from last season to this point (they are currently 24-27) and could realistically find themselves with a Play-In spot.
They are currently the 13th seed, but despite how this may sound, they are certainly still in the mix for Play-In mix. This Western Conference is not like the East, where the 13th seed Orlando Magic are 4.5 games back from the 10th seed. The Thunder are only 1, yes 1, game back from the 10th seed New Orleans Pelicans. They are only 2.5 games behind the 6th seed Minnesota Timberwolves. They are only 3 games behind the 4th seed Dallas Mavericks.
With around 30 games to go in the regular season, there is absolutely no way that the Western Conference’s final standings can be predicted. It’s just absolute chaos. Though it seems insane, the Thunder could find themselves with a playoff spot and not even have to worry about battling through the Play-In.
Who Is Leading The Way:
So, the logical question after a team has seriously struggled for years is how did they get here? How did the Thunder get to this point where they could be the 4th seed in two weeks time if all goes well? The answer is simple: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who was announced a first-time All-Star yesterday, is averaging nearly 31 points and 6 assists per game. He has a legitimate argument for best driving, downhill player in the league and is just an absurd offensive threat. At age 24, he is one of the hardest players to guard in the league while showing serious signs of improvement on the defensive end of the floor. He, nearly single handedly, has elevated the Thunder offensive to become an average unit as opposed to one of the league’s worst. He needs to be on an All-NBA team.
After having a slow start to his sophomore year, Josh Giddey has begun to turn the corner this season. In the month of January, Giddey averaged 18.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 6.4 assists with a 56.5 TS%. The defense needs work, but Giddey had an incredibly productive month in January, where the Thunder went 9-5.
January marked the continuation of a high level of production for a fellow young player: rookie Jalen Williams. Since the start of December (when Williams first started to break out), Williams has averaged 12.8 points on a solid 56.5 TS%. He has flashed the ability to shoot off of the catch and the dribble, providing valuable versatility for the Thunder.
Lu Dort is coming off of his best month of the season, too, averaging just a shade under 15 points per game (albeit on a 54.9 TS%) and with good defense. He, however, just doesn’t feel as exciting as Jalen Williams for this Thunder core.
What makes this all the more intriguing for next season will be the addition of Chet Holmgren to this situation. The Thunder have put together the 10th best defense this season thus far without a true rim protector. Holmgren is expected to be a positive, impactful rim protector from day one, so he could certainly bolster this group to the top five (they hovered around five earlier this season). The Thunder’s defense success is partially due to Head Coach Mark Daigneault, who deserves his flowers.
Role players like Kenrich Williams, Tre Mann, Aleksej Pokusevski, and others have made an impact, but none of these players are necessarily considered elite role players.
The Thunder weren’t supposed to be this good, but here they are, not too far from the 4th seed with a bright future ahead with their young core.
Charlie Spungin , NBA Analyst