The OKC Thunder may be struggling to convert on attempts from beyond the arc during these early stages of the 2025-26 campaign, but cashing in on shots when bee-lining it toward the rim has been a virtually automatic venture for the ball club.
After finishing last year's campaign as the second-most drive-happy team in the association (54.5), Oklahoma City finds itself once again tapping back into this offensive approach, heading to the rack at an average of 54.1 times per game.
Clearly, this strategy has worked wonders for their scoring output, as 296 of their points this year have come off of drives, equating to roughly 27.0 percent of their 1,100 total point mark.
Such a number ranks first in the NBA by a significant margin.
Thunder offense virtually unstoppable when driving
Scoring off drives is not simply the driver's responsibility, and the Thunder are proving this first-hand.
These sets have led to many drive-and-dish opportunities for the Thunder, as they rank fifth in total assists in this department with 42.
Considering they have been one of the better catch-and-shoot teams in the game since the calendar page flipped to November, this success rate on kick-outs should come as no real surprise.
Arguably, the most important reality of all this is the fact that driving efficiency is not only displayed in the scoring department, but also when it comes to ball security, as they lead the league in turnover percentage on drives at just 4.5.
No matter which way you look, it seems the Thunder have adopted a foolproof, indefensible driving strategy to their offensive game.
Give them that first step, and they'll make an opposing team pay with their elite bucket-getting abilities. Get too handsy, and Oklahoma City will gladly capitalize on a trip to the charity stripe, an area they've visited a total of 86 times on drives so far, splashing home on 86.0 percent efficiency.
As alluded to already, this Thunder offense has been far from the one that ranked sixth in perimeter shooting during their title-winning campaign a season ago. Yet, despite these woes, they still find themselves atop the standings with the league's best record at 8-1, thanks, one, to their defensive excellence, and, two, to their dominance in the driving game.
With several key players already making their way back to the rotation, and with many others, such as Jalen Williams, slated to return in the not-too-distant future, the long-range shooting game should only be expected to improve substantially, which, in turn, should force defenders to put more emphasis on guarding the perimeter and clear up the middle and interior.
This, in theory, could make OKC's already dominant driving game even more frightening to face.