OKC Thunder: National sites power rankings heading into opening night

With the NBA season underway, the National pundits deliver the first round of power rankings that finds the OKC Thunder at the bottom of most ladders.

Tonight the OKC Thunder will undertake their first game of the 2020-21 campaign. The season won’t be what most in the fan base have become accustomed to given the club has shifted into a new era. Sam Presti is entering new territory as he endeavors to rebuild this franchise via the draft.

As such this season will be one of ‘resiliency’ where the club hopes the youngsters will grow, develop, and learn from losing. That means the club won’t be among the teams earmarked as early title favorites and are likely to spend the majority of the year mired in the bottom of national pundits’

power ranking ladders.

To that end, the first offering from the national pundits was released to coincide with opening night. The following offers excerpts from those scribes and notes on this iteration of the OKC Thunder.

OKC Thunder mired at bottom of national pundits power ranking ladder in week one:

With that let’s see where the National pundits rank the OKC Thunder in week one of the NBA  Power Rankings.

NBA.com – John Schuhmann:

Although the master of stats John Schuhmann placed the OKC Thunder last on his rung there was a seeming hat tip to the fact this iteration will offer up some intrigue and fun moments from the youth brigade.

The following is an excerpt from his Thunder comments:

"It feels like this space will be reserved for Aleksej Pokusevski and Theo Maledon updates all season. We know what Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can do (though there will be development to monitor), and we’ve seen Al Horford for the last 13 seasons. But Poku (a 7-foot guard?) and Maledon (who seems to see the floor really well) are new and intriguing pieces on a team for which wins and losses won’t matter. Luguentz Dort 2.0 could also be fun to watch (though his preseason usage rate was below that of Kenrich Williams)."

For the full version of Schuhman’s Thunder comments and the rest of his power rankings click here.

ESPN Poll:

The panel is no longer as ESPN moves to polling their team of 40 reporters, writers, insiders, and editors. With the season set to start today, they launch the first edition of this season’s power rankings.

The first offering is more detailed than typical as it offers up additional sweets like win-loss projections, which player could be a breakout candidate, players who rank among the top 100, and the key question (or pivot point) of the season will be.

As per usual Royce Young serves up the Thunder offering with a portion of his excerpt below. The panel isn’t quite as off on the young ‘resiliency era’ Thunder ranking them 26th. The full listing can be found here. 

"Pivot point for 2020-21: How many more deals for OKC?They say if you don’t like the weather in Oklahoma, wait 10 minutes. And the same goes for the roster right now. After an offseason with a flurry of trades, here’s a fun fact: Hamidou Diallo is currently the longest tenured Thunder player. There’s a clear transition to a rebuild underway, which leaves veterans like Al Horford, George Hill and Trevor Ariza very available on the trade market.— Young"

The Ringer:

One of the Intentions favorite scribes – Kevin O’Connor serves up his power rankings to tip off the 2020-21 season. KO’C places the Thunder 29th in his rankings. A portion of his musings can be found in the following excerpt…

"Now that Chris Paul and Dennis Schröder are gone, the Thunder will find out what Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is capable of. Last season, Gilgeous-Alexander played only 135 minutes without Paul or Schröder on the floor, during which he averaged 23.8 points with 7.7 assists. But his true shooting percentage plummeted from 57 percent with one or both of them on the court to only 49 percent. How he performs as a scorer will determine whether Oklahoma City exceeds expectations or finds itself near the bottom of the standings."

O’Connor is releasing his power rankings in groups with OKC in the initial tier which can be found by clicking this link. For those interested in his middle group (the teams who’ll contend for the play-in tournament, and lower playoff locks) click here and for the top ten group click here.

Bleacher Report:

Mo Dakhil serves up the week one power rankings for Bleacher Report.

The following is a portion of Dakhil’s  Thunder excerpt in which he places OKC 27th:

"This might prove to be low for the Oklahoma City Thunder, but it is difficult to gauge what they plan to do over the season. It does not seem they are trying to compete after they traded so many players. Even Ricky Rubio, Danny Green and Kelly Oubre Jr. were shipped out before touching down in Oklahoma. Which also means if the right offer comes for George Hill or Al Horford, they could be on the move.The Thunder are kicking off their rebuild project, loaded with assets and what they hope is a young cornerstone to build around."

The full article is available via this link.

NBC Sports:

Monte Poole keeps his offerings short and like his cohorts drop the Thunder in 30th.

"They want all of the draft picks. ALL OF THEM."

To view his entire power rankings list click here.

The Score:

In the inaugural season entry, the team at the Score elected to give each team a Christmas Gift along with their power rankings.

The OKC Thunder comes in at number 27th on the list.

"🎁 A sun dial. The Thunder are entering what promises to be a fascinating rebuild – and it’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s time to shine. His growth is the perfect gift for Thunder fans accustomed to star guards."

For the full Score Panel power rankings click here.

CBS Sports:

Writer Colin Ward-Henniger returns with his first power rankings installment. CWH ranks the Thunder last among the 30 teams but it’s hard to ignore his ‘draft pick’ references. In other words, this isn’t the typical – “this team sucks” placement.

For CWH’s full ratings and power rankings placements click this link.

"Who’s ready for a steady dose of Aleksej Pokusevski? The Thunder kicked off their rebuild in earnest, getting rid of Chris Paul and Steven Adams while watching Danilo Gallinari to sign elsewhere, and now they’ll build around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort and whatever comes from their kajillion draft picks over the next several years. The near future, however, probably won’t have much winning in it, as the goal will be to build up the trade value of Al Horford, George Hill and Trevor Ariza enough to eventually trade them away for — you guessed it — more draft picks."

Sports Illustrated:

More from Thunderous Intentions

• Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
• Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
• 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
• Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
• Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder

Michael Shapiro serves up the power rankings for Sports Illustrated and like his counterparts places OKC in the bottom tier ranking them 29th and just ahead of the last place Cavaliers.

The following is his excerpt on the Thunder while his full rankings can be viewed here.

"This isn’t exactly a thrilling on-court product after Sam Presti’s summer of pick accumulation, though Shai Gilgeous-Alexander should be worth the occasional League Pass pop-in. The third-year guard appears ready to take the reins after a year of Chris Paul’s tutelage, and Gilgeous-Alexander has stolen a few tricks from the Point God. Few guards in the league are as shifty at the rim as Gilgeous-Alexander. He can contort his body to finish at every conceivable angle, and his jarring length prevents harassment from even the most adept shot blocker. As Oklahoma City dives into an extended rebuild, SGA is a worthy franchise anchor."

Hoops Habit:

And finally, Hoops Habit courtesy of Corey Rausch offers the power rankings for our sister site. He ranks the OKC Thunder 30th. The following is a portion of his excerpt on the Thunder while the full ranking list can be found here.

"This year is about development under new coach Mark Daigneault. Seeing what you have in the Slender Man-Esque Aleksej Pokusevki is part of the treat. Building on the breakout bubble performance of Luguentz Dort is an intriguing, if not offensively exciting, proposition.Gilgeous-Alexander has a real chance to be the Most Improved Player given a dramatic increase in usage rate. Should the team end up with the prospect down the highway in Cade Cunningham, all the better."

That wraps up week one of the national power rankings. Stay tuned for the Intentions offerings with our thoughts on the mix as the 2020-21 NBA season gets underway tonight.