The NBA season is right around the corner and we have our hands on the brand new NBA 2k game in the series, NBA 2K22 dropped on Friday, September 10th and we have already reacted to the game’s ratings of the OKC Thunder roster this season. Now? Let’s simulate an entire season including the 2022 NBA Draft and NBA Lottery.
The Oklahoma City Thunder enter 2021-22 projected to finish last in the Western Conference and be one of the worst teams in the entire league. The team’s 2k season got off to a bumpy start. Let’s start by saying injuries were turned off to see how good each team was. The Clippers were altered to not have Kawhi Leonard or the regular season. I did not accept any trades for the Oklahoma City Thunder but did document each deal that was offered.
The OKC Thunder finish worst in the west but win NBA Draft Lottery
The Thunder rotation I set for the season is based on this article predicting what Mark Daigneault will do this season. In October, the boys in Blue got off to a 2-4 start with wins over the Jazz and Rockets to start the year before rattling off four straight losses.
In November the team went 5-9, collecting victories over Spurs, Heat, Hawks, Jazz, and Rockets. When the December slate hit, the team had their worst month yet going for 11 losses, only squeezing out four wins this time over the Pistons, Grizzlies, Clippers, and Nuggets.
January also saw 11 losses, this time only a trio of good results beating the Wolves, Wizards, and Cavs. The shorted February schedule due to the NBA All-Star festivities in Cleveland saw a 4-8 record.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was not named an All-Star despite his impressive season for the second straight year. Josh Giddey, Theo Maledon, Aleksej Pokusevski, and shockingly Gabriel Deck all made the rising stars game. No other member of the team earned a trip to the NBA All-Star weekend.
In the Western Conference, LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Klay Thompson, Nikola Jokic, Anthony Davis, Karl Anthony Towns, Zion Williamson, Paul George, Brandon Ingram, Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard, and Steph Curry all year All-Star nods.
Oklahoma City had their best month, and lone stretch over .500 in March when the team went 8-7, knocking off the Bucks, Grizzlies, Magic, Hornets, Celtics, Nuggets, Blazers, and Hawks before winning just two games in April to end the NBA season.
The team finished with a 28-54 record, the second-worst in the entire league only ahead of Cleveland.