ESPN Shows the OKC Thunder love with Award predictions

The OKC Thunder are looking forward to an incredibly exciting season in Bricktown. With one of the league’s most promising young cores fresh off a 40-win season and significant roster improvements, the anticipation for this next season is high.

With Media Day and Training camp just about a month away, we are beating down the door of preview season. That has led ESPN to take a stab at predicting every major award for this upcoming NBA season, and OKC Thunder players litter the list.

OKC Thunder receives love in the latest ESPN award projections ahead of the 2023-24 NBA season.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will have plenty of reasons for optimism this season, and the fanbase is already buzzing about the potential of this squad. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will once again lead the team after his rise to superstardom during the 2022-23 campaign, where he finished top five in MVP voting. This season, ESPN projects Gilgeous-Alexander for another top-ten finish, tied for that spot with Anthony Davis and behind Nikola Jokic, who ESPN projects to win the award.

The mothership did not limit their projections to MVP; the OKC Thunder saw Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams finish top-six in Most Improved Player voting, with Giddey tied for fourth place and Williams taking home sixth place.

The OKC Thunder were not just respectably on ballots but also took home some hardware. Chet Holmgren missed the entire 2022-23 season and will look to return to the court this season for his rookie campaign. The race for rookie of the year will be tight, headlined by generational prospect Victor Wembanyama. According to ESPN, Chet Holmgren ends up edging out Wembanyama for the Rookie of the Year award.

Lastly, Mark Daigneault takes home the Coach of the Year award after finishing runner-up for the honor last season, losing out to Kings bench boss Mike Brown. With so many names projected to be in contention for awards, it is clear to see why OKC Thunder fans have high hopes for this season.