Bleacher Report’s ‘wildest’ Thunder lineup

If you blindly picked five players on the Oklahoma City Thunder roster, chances are you’d have a formidable starting five. It isn’t an exaggeration to say that OKC has the most variety in the number of lineups they can try. Thanks to a treasure trove of “3-and-D” players on the roster, like the newly-added Alex Caruso, head coach Mark Daigneault has the kind of versatility at his fingertips that most teams crave.

Trying a wild lineup

Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale penned “The Wildest Lineup Every NBA Team Could Really Try In 2024-25,” and he offered an intriguing cast of five players each team could experiment with next season.

Here’s his “wildest” Thunder lineup: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace, Isaiah Joe, and Chet Holmgren.

“Getting weird with the Oklahoma City Thunder almost mandates you leave at least one of SGA, Holmgren, and Jalen Williams on the bench. The latter gets the boot here in service of Chet-plus-four-guards. Luguentz Dort should probably be on the docket if you don't want to overextend Joe or SGA at the defensive end. But both Caruso and Wallace can guard basically whoever themselves, and Joe's shooting, motion, and secondary screening maximize what should be a spicy offense. SGA has plenty of room to work, but this group also lets Oklahoma City stress-test Holmgren's on-ball creation. That actually matters,” wrote Favale.

As “wild” as this Thunder combination looks, it isn’t entirely different from the team’s standard philosophy. This lineup has shooting and defense — and a lot of it — surrounding their two big weapons, SGA and Holmgren. It is the ideal modern-day lineup, with the guard-big man tandem uniting for a pick-and-roll heavy offense while shooters space the floor.

Wallace, Joe, and Caruso, who are the floor spacers in this lineup, all shot better than 41% from the 3-point line and at least 40% on catch-and-shoot tries from the perimeter last season.

Shai and Chet, Oklahoma City’s premier 1-2 punch, played 75 games together and shared nearly 22 minutes per game on the court last season. In those minutes, the Thunder were elite, averaging 56.8 points, 19.6 rebounds, and 12.6 assists while shooting 50.7% from the field.

This lineup is just one of many the Thunder can try next season. The biggest upper hand that rotational versatility delivers is finding a counter for everything defensively and carving out numerous ways to score offensively. Even Favale’s suggested lineup, which is predominantly scoring-based, features four (out of the five) players who can guard multiple positions on defense. OKC has options that perhaps no other team can consistently replicate.

Related: Here’s how Oklahoma City can have their way with the Denver Nuggets next season