Could The OKC Thunder Finally Win A Championship After 44 Years?
- Melech Mahalel
- Apr 17, 2024
- 5 min read
By Melech Mahalel
The Oklahoma City Thunder definitely struggled in the past: With a 40-42 record placing 10th in the west last season. But this team full of young bright players has improved significantly since.
The team proved the majority of sports bettors wrong, going from +7,000 to +2,800 odds to win the championship in just the transition from the preseason, and the regular season.
As of January 15, the Thunder have a 27-11 record. Making them 2nd in the west and 3rd in the league, but they are just a win away from meeting the number 1 team in the west: the Minnesota Timberwolves with a 28-11 record.
Something vital that makes this team future contenders is the chemistry and talent of the players, and their ability to work well together.
Team superstar: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA, leads the team in scoring, averaging 31.5 Pts, 5.9 Reb, 6.4 AST, and 2.2 STL. He is 3rd in the league in ppg and 1st in steals.
Chet Holmgren Is Helped Up By Jalen Williams And Shai Gilgeous Alexander During The First Half Of The Regular Season Opener In United Center Chicago.
A 124-104 Win For OKC That Set The Tone For The Season.
There is no question that SGA is the leader of this team. Former NBA player Lou Williams argued in an interview that Shai should be picked for the MVP award this season. He said: “playing out of his mind, playing consistently. It's not like he's just in a great run, this is who he's been for the entirety of the season.” adding that “he’s the best point guard in basketball right now, And I think he has an opportunity as well as Joel Embiid, as well as Nikola Jokic, and as well as Luka Doncic. But he’s definitely right there in that conversation.”
While there is no doubt that SGA is the most influential player on the OKC Thunder, we need to realize that he isn't winning all of these games alone. The starting 5 for OKC consists of:
Chet Holmgren- a 7’1” center and power forward averaging 17.9 Pts, 7.3 Reb, and 2.5 Blk. Chet has a 40.3 3pt Percentage.
Jalen Williams (J-Dub)- a 6’5” Small and Power Forward averaging 18.8 Pts, 4.5 Reb, and 4.1 Ast. Josh Giddey- a 6’8” Shooting Guard averaging 12 pts, 6.2 reb, and 4.7 ast.
Luguentz Dort (Lou Dort) - a 6’4” Small Forward and Shooting Guard averaging 11.3 Pts. He Is Known As An Elite Defender.
Shai Gilgeous Alexander, Jay-Dub, And Lou Dort Celebrate During A Successful Second Half Of A 139-77 Win Over The Portland Trail Blazers.
With this in mind, the question we ask is can OKC win in the west? The Timberwolves are currently first in the west but OKC won more games against them.
OKC won 2 out of 3 games against the Wolves. OKC’s first loss vs the Wolves was their earliest game of the in-season tournament. The Wolves clinched a 106-103 win in The Target Center in Minnesota on November 28th.
Things took a turn for the Thunder when a month later on December 26th, they blew out the Timberwolves by 23 with a 129-106 win in Oklahoma.
The Thunder’s defensive efforts were outstanding: 23 points were scored off of 24 forced turnovers.
Shai ended up with 34 Points, 9 Assists, 6 Rebounds, 2 Steals, and 1 Block.
But the win wasn't only because of Shai’s performance, Shai said in a post-game interview: “I think we played together on both ends of the floor, for the most part.”
Lou Dort scored 20 points, hitting 5 threes and only missing 1. Lou Dort spread his efficient shooting across the Thunder as they had a 60.5 shooting pct as a team.
Jalen Williams scored 21 points. But he had an impact on both ends of the floor as he denied 7’1” star center Rudy Gobert in back-to-back possessions, from an “easy” layup in the paint.
Chet and Giddey also made an impact, acquiring 20 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, 10 points and 7 assists, respectively.
An obstacle for this team to compete in the postseason is that the roster doesn’t have enough playoff experience to win a championship. It is proven that a team with less playoff experience leads to a lower chance of winning a championship.
The Thunder went on to win the next four games they played. Two of the games were against the top 2 prospects to win the championship: The Boston Celtics with The Denver Nuggets.
The Celtics currently have the best record in the league and they have +300 odds to win the championship. If they keep playing with the same consistency, it'll build their confidence to do well in the playoffs.
Because The Nuggets overcame The Heat in the finals last season, there is speculation from every sports analyst that the Nuggets will win again. They have +430 odds to win a title this year.
Despite this, OKC blew out the Nuggets on Dec 29: an away game at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. A final score of 119-93. SGA dropped 40 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Chet started the Thunder's offense strong, scoring their first 10 points of the game. He contributed 24 points, 3 assists, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Hitting 4/4 shots from three.
Dort contributed on the other side of the floor with 4 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block: a statement rejection on Nuggets star Jamal Murray. Dort only scored 4 pts, but he showed that he cares more about winning for the team than anything else. Lou Dort said: “My main thing really is to always make the right play for my teammates, and
whatever I can do, I'll do.”
Lou Dort Locking Up Nuggets Star Jamal Murray Defensively In A 105-100 Win Over The Second Seeded Denver Nuggets (As Of Jan 31).
Not only Dort, but OKC throughout the game was a defensive powerhouse as they had 10 steals and 8 blocks as a team. They held the Nuggets to just 93 points, 27 points under their season average.
Head coach of The OKC Thunder: Mark Daigneault, expressed his appreciation for the player's defensive efforts that night in a post-game interview:
“Contributions up and down tonight, it was an impressive team win. Jay Williams was outstanding, especially on Jokic. That's obviously one of the toughest covers in the league and he really executed at a high level. Lou I thought was really really good on Murray. he had six shots in the game and yet was incredibly impactful. I thought we got contributions from everybody that went in the game.”
OKC Head Coach Mark Daigneault Calls A Play During The Second Half Of A 136-128 Win Over The Washington Wizards.
Wiping Out The Western Conference
Shai Gilgeous Alexander Hits A Miraculous Game Winning Turnaround Fadeaway Shot Over Peyton Watson In A 118-117 Clutch Win For OKC.
Even though The Oklahoma City Thunder is a young team and may not have the playoff experience that teams like the Celtics, Nuggets, and Timberwolves have, the conversation on who will win this season's title is still debatable.
If The Thunder continue playing games with consistent offensive, and defensive drive, they'll have a good chance of winning the conference finals this season.
With Shai, Chet, J-Dub, Josh Giddey, Lou Dort, and Coach Daigneault, will OKC win a championship with this roster?
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