five bold predictions for the OKC Thunder this season

Josh Giddey will be top-10 in Total Assists

Josh Giddey showed flashes of excellence last season. The biggest criticism of his game was shooting, specifically from the perimeter. The Thunder brass found a solution to that problem by bringing in Chip Engelland from the San Antonio Spurs. The early returns have been positive, Giddey shot 53.3 percent from beyond the arc on 15 attempts throughout five preseason games.

Five games is not a large enough sample size to judge how much of an improvement has been made, after the 54-game sample from last season. Moreover, what Giddey has done that is a large enough example of his capabilities is his passing ability. He led the league in assists this preseason with 33 assists.

During his rookie season, Giddey averaged six assists per game, if he would have played in the league minimum of 58 games, he would have ranked 15th in assists per game among all players. Among rookies, Giddey lead the way in assists per game and was on pace to lead all rookies in total assists, but because he only appeared in 54 games due to injury, Cade Cunningham surpassed Giddey with 356 assists in 64 games, Giddey came in second with 345 assists.

Given personal improvement, an improvement from his teammates, and talent added over the off-season, Giddey will leap into the top 10 in total assists and top-five in assists per game this season. So long as he stays healthy for the duration of his sophomore season. There you have it, five bold predictions for the Thunder’s 2022-23 campaign, I look forward to seeing how many, if any of these statements pan out over the next roughly six months.

Editors note: 6, it is unquestioned that Josh Giddey is a top ten playmaker, and top ten passer, but can his teammates cash in?