Approximately a quarter of the season is complete for the majority of teams with the OKC Thunder on track to be in the mix for the top draft pick this coming June.
Along the way, this young club impressed the experts with just how hard they compete. While other teams are also losing they don’t get the same shine OKC garners which speaks to how much they’ve impressed the experts.
OKC Thunder drops unanimously in week 6 national power rankings
That said, it’s also not that shocking the Thunder fell down every power rankings list for games played in week six. Although the reviews are based on different schedules depending on the site the Thunder fell in the 24th to 27th range his week.
Here’s a sampling of what the national writers had to say about the Thunder from games played in week six.
OKC Thunder power ranking – John Schuhmann of NBA.com:
For the second consecutive week, John Schuhmann drops the OKC Thunder down one spot in his power rankings from 24th to 25th.
Schuhmann touches on the improvement of Luguentz Dort‘s shooting and the special talent that is rookie Josh Giddey and his playmaking. A portion of his excerpt is below and his full week six power ranking can be viewed by clicking here.
"Playing without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder were competitive against the Jazz on Wednesday, getting big games from Lu Dort and Josh Giddey. After shooting 15-for-64 (23%) from 3-point range through his first 10 games, Dort has shot 27-for-67 (40%) over the last eight. And at 6-8 with great court vision, Giddey is already a special playmaker who’s passing may be contagious. The Thunder have recorded assists on 61% of their buckets with the rookie on the floor and just 46% with him off the floor…Their three losses last week dropped the Thunder to 0-11 against the 14 teams that have winning records through Week 6. With their losses to the Hawks and Wizards, they’re also the only team without a win (they’re 0-7) against the opposite conference."
ESPN Poll:
The ESPN panel also drops the OKC Thunder down to 25th from 24th in week six. Tim MacMahon provides the Thunder excerpt noting the struggles of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
To view ESPN’s week six power rankings click here.
"Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed two games last week due to a sprained right ankle and has been struggling recently. He has scored fewer than 20 points in his past five games, the first time that has happened since the end of the 2019-20 season. Gilgeous-Alexander is shooting 30.8% from the floor and 19.4% from 3-point range in this slump. — MacMahon"
CBS Sports:
The biggest drop for the OKC Thunder comes via Colin Ward-Henninger who drops the club four ladder rungs from 23rd to 27th in week six.
Like his counterparts, CWH recognizes how hard the Thunder compete and somewhat gives them a pass given SGA was out and the absence of depth.
For the full CBS week six power rankings, click here.
"OKC kept things relatively close against four tough opponents this week, but ended up going 0-4. The Thunder played the last two games without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, which makes things extremely difficult offensively. Lu Dort averaged 17 points for the week on 39 percent 3-point shooting, while rookie Josh Giddey put up 15.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game on 39 percent 3-point shooting.."
Sporting News:
There wasn’t a typical power ranking offered by the panel of SportingNews this week. They did revisit the tiers the panel placed teams in the Western Conference prior to the season and how they are measuring up.
Scott Rafferty revisits the tiers and not surprisingly the OKC Thunder end up in the bottom tier (tier 6) of the West with the Rockets and Spurs. Rafferty recognizes Lu Dort specifically in the excerpt. To view all six tiers and where each Western team placed click here.
"The Thunder and Spurs have been more competitive than the Rockets so far, but they’re each in a similar position — rebuilding teams that are destined for the lottery.Still, it’s been fun to watch Lugentz Dort spread his wings, Dejounte Murray take another leap and the youngsters on the Rockets figure stuff out on the fly. There can be beauty in the struggle."
Hoops Habit:
Following the trend, Hoops Habit writer Jack Simone drops the OKC Thunder down in week six from his previous ranking of 23rd to 26th.
Simone notes the lacking offense and credits their surprising defense. As per usual the excerpt includes a “season outlook” segment. To read the week six excerpt in its entirety and Simone’s full power rankings for the week click here.
"After a surprisingly solid stretch to start the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder have crashed back down to earth. They have now lost five straight games in a row.Their struggles have been a direct representation of a severe lack of offense, which is the worst in the NBA at the moment. Meanwhile, their defense hasn’t been all that bad…Season outlook: To be perfectly honest, the Thunder are playing much better than a lot of people expected. Coming into the year, most had them pegged as the worst team in the NBA. So far, they are not. However, they will still almost certainly find themselves in the top ten of this year’s NBA draft."
With this week’s listings, the OKC Thunder dropped on every list which isn’t a bad thing given the team has already impressed and overachieved based on where these pundits thought they would be prior to the season.