Just because the joys of the OKC Thunder's 11-game win streak are squarely in the rearview mirror and the dreams of a 70-win regular season have dissipated into vapors, it doesn't render the last week of the season moot.
Quite the opposite, in fact!
Even though Oklahoma City clinched the top seed in the Western Conference nearly three weeks ago, don't expect this hungry, young team to rest on its laurels.
Head coach Mark Daigneault often speaks of a desire to keep every tool in the toolbox sharp for when this team will need them most. With the possibility of home-court advantage in a potential NBA Finals still up for grabs, don't expect that to change during this final week of play.
Despite suffering back-to-back losses for only the second time this season, the Thunder are still on the precipice of breaking two of the NBA’s most respected all-time team records and are within striking distance of another.
Point Differential
Through 78 games played, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and company have outscored its opponents by a total of 977 points.
If they can maintain that 12.53 points per game margin of victory, they will set the league's all-time record for the largest per-game point differential.
In fact, OKC only needs to outpoint its remaining four opponents by a total of 31 points to set the new standard. That amounts to a 7.75 ppg margin of victory, which is nearly five points below the Thunder’s season average.
There is a very serious chance that the Thunder will be sitting alone atop that mountain when April 14th rolls around, as the current top-five in this particular category reads as follows:
Team | Point Differential | Avg. Margin of Victory |
|---|---|---|
1971-72 Lakers | 1,007 | 12.28 |
1970-71 Bucks | 1,005 | 12.26 |
1995-96 Bulls | 1,004 | 12.24 |
2016-17 Warriors | 954 | 11.63 |
2023-24 Celtics | 930 | 11.34 |
The above teams are consistently debated as the best of all time. They all went on to win the NBA Championship following their regular season dominance.
Though there are certainly no guarantees when it comes to hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy, this year’s Thunder squad currently finds itself rubbing elbows with the all-time greats.
While the rest of the NBA wrestles with the age-old question, “To tank or not to tank?” Oklahoma City is providing must-see basketball right up to the season’s very end.
Turnover Differential
Do not sleep on this defense!
The Thunder possess one of the best collections of hands that the Association has witnessed in a very long time. One of the best basketball analysts on the planet, The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie, said it best during one of his recent Game Theory Podcasts: “The defense is just unconscionably good… Oklahoma City has one of the five best defenses of the last 25 years and they are incredibly, incredibly good. It is unbelievable!”
Through 78 games, OKC’s transcendent defense has forced 1333 turnovers, while the steady Thunder ball handlers have only coughed the ball up 922 times on the season.
That’s a net turnover differential of 411. The NBA record of 418 was set by the 1987-88 Denver Nuggets.
The Thunder need only average two fewer turnovers per game than their opponents during this next week to etch their name into the record books.
Net Rating
Net rating is a measure of a team’s point differential calculated per one hundred possessions.
Standardizing to a per one-hundred possession metric allows for easier comparison between teams, both within a season and also historically.
The Chicago Bulls have produced the two highest net ratings in NBA history. The 1995-96 team set the standard with a mark of 13.4, and the 1996-97 Bulls squad compiled a net rating of 12.0.
The Thunder currently sit at 12.3. It is highly doubtful that they can top the 13.4 mark this season, but there is no shame in finishing second behind the team widely acclaimed as the greatest of all time, especially when considering you’re currently the youngest team in the Association.