Getty Image / Joshua Gateley
A few years ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder set out on the most ambitious rebuild the NBA has seen since the Process 76ers in the early-to-mid 2010s. The Thunder completely bottomed out, and were absolutely terrible.
But, just a two years after being one of the very worst teams in the league, the Thunder are now the top seed in the Western Conference following a crazy end to the season that saw them claim the top spot in the West.
The Thunder won the tiebreaker over the Denver Nuggets via season series, as they won the last three matchups the teams played this year, all before February.
What General Manager Sam Presti and head coach Mark Daigneault have done the last two years is simply remarkable. Last year, they got to the finals of the play-in tournament at 40-42 before losing in a blowout to the Minnesota Timberwolves. This year, they made a seventeen win improvement.
Yes, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has emerged into a bona fide MVP candidate and will certainly make All-NBA First Team in one of the guard spots. And, 2022 NBA Draft 2nd-overall pick Chet Holmgren was very good this year after missing his entire rookie season with a torn ACL. But, it’s the work that this team has done identifying and developing role players that has them so good, way ahead of schedule.
Chief among those players is small forward Jalen Williams. Yes, he was the 12th-overall pick out of Santa Clara in 2022. But, no one expected him to be a guy averaging 19 points a game on elite shooting splits, including 43% from three, while being a versatile defender.
He’s really the story of the entire supporting cast. Whether it’s rookie point guard Cason Wallace, Isaiah Joe, Lu Dort, Josh Giddey, or Aaron Wiggins, everyone does their part at efficient clips.
Are the Thunder going to make a run to the team’s first championship? They’re probably a year or two away from that type of playoff run. But, the future is incredibly bright, and the present isn’t so bad either.
We haven’t even got to the draft picks they own. The Thunder own more future first-rounders than any team in the league, not to mention scores of second-rounders that they’ve accumulated. Obviously, they can’t draft that many players in the first round, but that’s a lot of ammo to trade with or move up in a draft for the right guy.
All in all, there’s probably not a team in the NBA with a brighter future than the Oklahoma City Thunder.