The Oklahoma City Thunder are projected to be atop the West entering the 2024-25 NBA Season. (Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports)
2024-25 NBA Season Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder
We are less than one week away from the start of the 2024-25 NBA Season! To continue our preseason preview series, we will be diving into the surging Oklahoma City Thunder, the best team in the Western Conference! Let’s not waste any more time and jump into it!
What happened last year?
The Thunder burst onto the scene last year behind MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander . They earned the No. 1 seed in the vaunted West at 57-25, finishing with the second-best adjusted NET Rating, third-best offense and the fourth-best defense. Where their inexperience came in was in the postseason, as they fell just short of the Western Conference Finals after getting eliminated in six games by the Dallas Mavericks. Regardless, it was an incredibly successful season for the best young team on the rise, getting excellent production from Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams , among several others.
Offseason Recap:
The Thunder had arguably the best offseason of any team leaguewide. They signed Isaiah Hartenstein to a three-year, $87 million deal; they traded Josh Giddey , a depreciated asset in this context, to the Bulls for Alex Caruso , an elite role player; they also drafted Nikola Topic with the No. 12 pick, Dillon Jones –one of the most productive players in college basketball–plus Ajay Mitchell , who had an impressive summer. Hartenstein, the best free agent center on the market, adds a much-needed big body in the frontcourt to ease pressure off Holmgren’s shoulders, especially on the glass. Caruso is more malleable than Giddey was, especially since the latter’s lack of shooting hindered the team’s spacing when he was on the floor. That won’t be the issue with Caruso. Unfortunately, Topic won’t play this year , but he was a very intriguing guard prospect who was an elite-level playmaker with very good slashing ability overseas. All in all, general manager Sam Presti crushed this offseason.
Projected Starting 5:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, G – Gilgeous-Alexander finished second in the MVP voting and seventh in Defensive Player of the Year voting, averaging 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.0 steals. The two-time All-Star surgical with the rock in his hands, and should be in-line for another MVP-caliber season
Luguentz Dort , G – If you’re in the Dorture chamber, you’re in for a long night. Dort is one of Oklahoma City’s top perimeter defensive players and shot a career-high 39.4 percent from deep (5.0 3PA) after knocking down just 33.2 percent of his 5.8 triple tries over his first four seasons.
Jalen Williams, G – Williams was one of the league’s top breakout stars last year, and he only continues to ascend as a secondary creator and defender. It’s also possible he has another breakout campaign, too.
Chet Holmgren, F/C – Holmgren impressed in his “rookie” season a year ago, averaging 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per contest. He’ll now have more room to be versatile defensively alongside Hartenstein, a bigger body that can absorb the nightly wear-and-tear.
Isaiah Hartenstein, C – Speaking of Hartenstein–what a pickup! He’s an elite (offensive) rebounder who’s an excellent short-roll playmaker and very good at initiating offense above-the-break. His fit should be seamless.
Alex Caruso, G – How did Sam Presti land Caruso, a good 3-point shooter who’s one of the league’s top (perimeter) defenders, without sacrificing one of their billion first-round picks again?
Cason Wallace , G – Wallace will likely operate as the team’s primary ballhandler in its second unit. His box score numbers won’t jump off the page, but he’s a force to deal defensively and is more than capable of creating offensively.
Isaiah Joe , G – Ever since Philadelphia willingly waived Joe, he’s shot 41.2 percent from deep with a 3-point rate north of 75 percent. He’s a sharpshooter.
Kenrich Williams , F – You could say this about a ton of players on this team, but all 30 teams need at least one Kenrich Williams on their squad.
Biggest X-Factor: Jalen Williams
The Thunder have so much positive overlap and redundancy to where it’s difficult to pinpoint one single X-Factor. I’ll say Williams, only because he’s the most viable threat to take pressure off Gilgeous-Alexander from a creation perspective. When Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t on the floor or isn’t having his best night, who will step up? My best bet is Williams, a 23-year-old guard who’s already ascended into one of the best young two-way guards in the NBA. If he takes yet another leap in 2024-25, this team could win a title.
Season Projection:
Despite Oklahoma City’s health luck, I think they will be the best team in the Western Conference, finishing 60-22.
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