The Oklahoma City Thunder are still in the midst of a rebuild, attempting to build their roster into a contender after a two-year hiatus from the NBA Playoffs. The OKC Thunder made a splash gaining the second overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft through the NBA Draft lottery, shipping away three future first-round picks for the 11th selection, and owning the Clippers pick at 12, Sam Presti walked away with four draft picks four of whom were Lottery selections in June’s draft.
The Thunder also re-signed Lu Dort, Mike Muscala, and Kenrich Williams and have a roster that is littered with fun young talent. While the OKC Thunder could still pivot midway through the year, this should be an exciting team that sees an uptick in wins this season.
The Oklahoma City Thunder comes in ranked 13th in the latest NBA.com Power Ranking following the offseason, is this a fair ranking for the OKC Thunder?
Last year, the OKC Thunder ranked last in nearly every power ranking, despite not having the worst record in the NBA. The Thunder would go on to finish 24-58, the fourth worst mark in the league.
After this offseason, the Oklahoma City Thunder and their fans are excited about where the team is heading. With second overall pick Chet Holmgren, two additional lottery picks (Ousmane Dieng and Jalen Williams), plus the high-level play of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, second-year guard Josh Giddey, and the aforementioned re-signings.
The NBA put out a fresh set of power rankings after the offseason, and the OKC Thunder rank 13th. This places the Thunder ahead of the Houston Rockets (14th), and San Antonio Spurs (15th). The Oklahoma City Thunder fall in just behind the Sacramento Kings (12th) and Utah Jazz (10th).
It is important to note that if the Jazz elect to sell off Donovan Mitchell and the veterans on their team, they could easily slip to San Antonio range, which would lift the Thunder to the 12th line.
The Thunder should increase their pace of offense from last season (12th), offensive rating (30th) is in-line for a huge leap, and the team defense which ranked top ten in parts of last season will be more sustainable without the funny business late in this season. That allowed OKC’s defensive rating to slip to 17th.
Ultimately, 13th feels right, for now. Though, once Danny Ainge finishes wheeling and dealing, I believe the Thunder will be within the top 12 of the Western Conference.
Where do you see the OKC Thunder finishing this season?