Where national NBA pundits rank OKC Thunder in week 9

Discover where the top sites and experts rank the OKC Thunder in week nine of the NBA Power Rankings.

With week nine of the 2019-20 NBA season underway the National pundits and bloggers are universally impressed by the OKC Thunder with most teams raising them up the ladder.

Here’s how the top-ranked National sites and blogs rank the OKC Thunder in week nine:

NBA.com – John Schuhmann:

Through nine weeks NBA stat man John Schuhmann kept the OKC Thunder in the middle of the pack.

That changes this week with Schuhmann moving the squad up three spots from 15th to 12th. 

Looking at Schuhmann’s comments about the team the most interesting is the Thunder own the second best record in the West since Thanksgiving.

"The Thunder have a four-game winning streak, the Western Conference’s best record (9-3) since Thanksgiving, and a winning record for the first time this season. Before the Raptors came back from a 30-point deficit on Sunday, the Thunder came back from deficits of 26 and 24 points to beat Chicago and Memphis in consecutive games, with Steven Adams beating the Bulls with a free throw off the glass."

The rest of the above excerpt and full NBA power rankings can be viewed in its entirety by clicking this link.

ESPN – Panel

ESPN’s panel:

ESPN: Tim MacMahon |Andre’ Snellings | Royce Young | Bobby Marks

The Undefeated: Marc J. Spears

Last week the panel ranked the OKC Thunder 15th and in spite of the team going unbeaten this week they move them up by a single spot from 15th to 14th.

Royce Young notes the performance of Dennis Schroder and his early candidacy for Sixth Man of the Year.

Click this link for the full panel rankings.

"Four straight wins put the Thunder on the right side of .500, but even more so, they’re 9-3 dating to Nov. 29. They’ve found a rhythm and an identity, playing egoless, fun basketball. Dennis Schroder is making a strong case as an early front-runner for the Sixth Man Award and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander set a career high with 32 points against the Suns, then matched it Sunday against the Clippers. — Young"

Bleacher Report:

Grant Hughes focus for week nine was all the comebacks occurring of which the OKC Thunder were a big part of the equation.

Reading the passage on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander it’s clear Hughes is as smitten as Thunder Nation is over the silky smooth SGA.

Hughes moved the Thunder up one spot on the ladder from 14th and 13th. 

The following is a section of his excerpt on the Thunder and his full comments and rankings can be found via this link.

"Comeback week continued as the Thunder hauled themselves out of a 24-point hole to beat the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.Finally, we can’t move past Oklahoma City’s section without acknowledging Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s crafty brilliance in Friday’s 126-108 win against the Phoenix Suns. SGA poured in a career-high 32 points without committing a turnover, finishing an array of wrong-footed, off-time flips and scoops. Statistically and aesthetically, it was about as well as the second-year guard has played to date."

Sports Illustrated – The Crossover

Michael Shapiro ranked the team in 19th in week eight but the posting for this week wasn’t available as of this posting.

Hoops Habit:

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Week nine of the NBA Power Rankings finds Hoops Habit editor, Phil Watson significantly raising the team up the ladder.

Watson notes CP3’s output for the second week running. For week nine he moves OKC from 17th to 14th.

The following is the segment of his posting on the Thunder which notes Paul’s prowess. For the rest of his comments and ranking list click this link.

"Don’t look now, but here come the Oklahoma City Thunder beginning to solidify in the seventh spot in the Western Conference. With their blowout of the Suns on Friday, the Thunder are at .500 for the first time this season and got there with a pair of gigantic comebacks last week — coming from 26 points down to beat the Bulls and overcoming a 24-point deficit to beat the Grizzlies."

CBS Sports:

Colin Ward-Henninger of CBS Sports power rankings has held the OKC Thunder near the middle tier throughout the process. One of the steady supporters of the team throughout the process Ward-Henninger eventually gave in and dropped the club last week. However, with their unbeaten week nine, he quickly moves them up again form 16th to 13th. Ward-Henniger’s full power ranking can be viewed via this link.

"The Thunder completed a perfect week and climbed over the .500 mark with a win over the Kawhi Leonard-less Clippers on Sunday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander set a new career high with 32 points against the Suns, then matched it in the win over the Clippers. Dennis Schroder has been brilliant, averaging 25.3 points, 6.0 assists and 5.3 rebounds on 40 percent 3-point shooting during OKC’s four-game winning streak."

That wraps up week nine of the National writers’ power rankings with the pundits ranking the team as high as 12th and as low as 14th.

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