OKC Thunder: 3 breakout candidates not named Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Breakout candidate No. 2) Al Horford

Ok, so this one is a little tricky.

Al Horford is a 14-year-veteran in this league and, with that, has been selected to five All-Star games throughout his career. With this, it’s obvious that the 34-year-old has already had his “breakout” season.

That said, after such a disappointing season that was 2019-20, the big man’s value has seemingly never been so low, leaving many questioning whether he can even still contribute in a positive manner for a franchise.

Because of this, we feel it’s acceptable to place Horford on this list, as we at TI believe that he’ll wind up outperforming expectations this season and, thus, one could argue it could be constituted as a “breakout” whilst in the twilight stages of his career.

As we mentioned, last year was incredibly underwhelming for the veteran big. After signing a lucrative 4-year, $109 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers last offseason, expectations were high for both he and the franchise to produce.

Interestingly enough, both parties wound up underwhelming, as the Sixers wound up being swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the postseason while Horford would average only 11.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, and four assists per game and, with his reletively poor production, lost his starting gig in the process.

Be it poor fit within Philadelphia’s rotation or something else, we believe that Horford, what with being the only real “big man” on the current roster, could have a bounce-back season in 2020-21, especially if he winds up committing to playing the center position.

Frankly, it would only stand to benefit both Big Al and the OKC Thunder if he winds up playing well this year, as he would be able to prove to himself — and the league — that he still has what it takes to perform in the NBA while also increasing his trade value, giving Sam Presti yet another chance to cash in on acquiring future assets via some sort of deal.