OKC Thunder News: B/R high on Oklahoma City in latest grades piece

Through their first 13 games, the OKC Thunder find themselves with a record of 6-7 and have constantly been rotating in and out of the top-eight seed out in the Western Conference.

While these may not be the most eye-catching facts on the surface, when considering how low people were on the team heading into 2020-21, it’s quite an impressive start.

Coming in, many were hoping for an abysmal year, with chants of “fade for Cade” in reference to Oklahoma State phenom Cade Cunningham being chanted from the rooftops.

However, over time, fans have begun to grow less enthusiastic about a full out tank in OKC and, instead, are hoping for something of a Cinderella story similar to what they saw in 2019-20.

The OKC Thunder are exceeding all expectations

Behind the emergence of third-year star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, this team has impressed many during the schedule’s first quarter of action, so much so, in fact, that Bleacher Report believes the OKC Thunder deserve an A- grading.

One of only seven total teams to receive a grade in the ‘A’ range, writer Grant Hughes believes their one “imperfection” from their start to the season is, ironically, having too many wins for a rebuilding team:

"From a personnel standpoint, everything’s going great.Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is joined by only James Harden, Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving and Nikola Jokic with averages of over 21.0 points, 6.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds on at least 60.0 percent true shooting this season. His slithery handle and off-time attacks knock defenders off balance and allow the 22-year-old guard to get his own looks and set up others.Luguentz Dort is draining treys at an elite clip while using his bulk to shut down wings and attack the rim with purpose, and OKC’s longtime preference for rangy athletes it hopes to mold into actual basketball players is paying off. Hamidou Diallo and Darius Bazley, 22 and 20, respectively, have clearly developed more ball skills and craft.The ground floor of a rebuild isn’t supposed to look this good or be this much fun."

While there’s still a ways to go before the end of this year’s campaign, this first portion has been quite a joyous experience.