With the start of the preseason just a couple of days away, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s time to shine is almost here. The franchise has been the talk of the basketball world over the last several months, with current and former players, pundits, and fans waiting to see if they can accomplish what the world says they can.
The talent is undeniable when you look at their roster. Oklahoma City legitimately goes ten players deep on any given night and arguably has a more talented bench unit than some teams’ starting five.
Talent, though, can only take you so far. Numerous factors go into winning basketball games and a championship, including team chemistry, player health, consistent development, and more. Next season will either be the start of something new for OKC or a tap back into reality.
Projecting the win-loss record
Much like using pure talent to judge a team's ceiling, projecting a win-loss record is more for entertainment than reality. The unpredictability of sports makes it virtually impossible to guarantee that a team will finish with a certain number of wins.
Barring the unforeseen, Western Conference teams will need to leapfrog the Thunder if they want to compete for a title. Whether that’s outclassing them in the standings to receive home-court advantage or playing them head-on in the postseason for the right to advance to the next round, clubs can be sure that the Blue and Orange will try to spoil their hopes for years to come.
In a recent article, Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus compiled a list of regular season win totals for each team. The Boston Celtics and the Thunder represent their respective conferences as the top seeds from a year ago, but will that translate to the 2024 season? Here’s how the Thunder stack up in the West compared to the other top-five teams.
- Oklahoma City Thunder (60-22)
- Dallas Mavericks (53-29)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (53-29) -- tied with Dallas
- New Orleans Pelicans (50-32)
- Denver Nuggets (50-32) -- tied with New Orleans
“Will the Thunder be ready to win when they get deep into the playoffs? Adding Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein could catapult the team into true contention. Inexperience together at that level may be the most significant impediment, but the Thunder are the best team on paper in the West and a threat to take on the best in the East in June,” Pincus wrote.
The writer predicts the Celtics will also win their conference and, like the Thunder, achieve 60 wins on the season, making them the only 60-win teams in the association next season. However, the more glaring aspect is the difference between Boston and the second seed in the East and the Thunder and the second seed in the West.
OKC has a whopping seven-game advantage over the 53-win Dallas Mavericks, the defending West champions. Boston, meanwhile, holds a much slimmer lead by three games over the New York Knicks.
Recently, the Minnesota Timberwolves — one of the projected top four teams in the West — unloaded star center Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks, supposedly weakening OKC’s conference rival and increasing the gap between it and the rest of the West and helping New York close in on the Celtics. On paper, it is a move that seemingly benefits the Thunder. However, a true conclusion on the trade can only be made after watching Towns and Julius Randle on their new teams.
The Thunder sit pretty entering 2024. Starting the new season with an emphatic early push can give them enough of a cushion to secure the top spot in the West once again.
Related: Does Oklahoma City have the NBA’s most lethal starting five?
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