Odd rival moves confirm Thunder are gaining clear edge in one huge area

Last season, one of the main weaknesses the top-seeded OKC Thunder possessed was their lack of size and physicality up in the frontcourt.

Out of the players used as regular commodities within coach Mark Daigneault's rotation, Oklahoma City had just one player who measured in at above 6-foot-9 with the likes of 7-foot-1 rookie phenom Chet Holmgren. However, considering he weighed in at only 207 pounds, his build was far from ferocious.

This lackluster collection of brawn was consistently tabbed as a major reason why many believed the club wasn't yet ready to be seen as a legitimate title threat. After being outmuscled by the bigger and bulkier New Orleans Pelicans in round one and then being bullied by the Dallas Mavericks during their second-round demise, such a sore spot was never more apparent.

Because of this, Thunder GM Sam Presti opted to address this area of weakness during this past offseason by signing highly touted center, Isaiah Hartenstein on day two of free agency to a three-year, $87 million pact.

Though to some, shelling out such coin may be seen as a slight overpay for a somewhat limited-in-talent role player, his size (7-foot, 249 pounds), rebounding skills, and all-around brute-force style of play were seen as the exact thing OKC was missing within their arsenal.

In turn, following his addition, the odds-makers labeled them as having the best chance of representing the West in the 2025 NBA Finals.

Ironically, however, right when the Thunder have decided to beef up their talent pool, it seems that some of their conference rivals have actually gone on to downsize.

OKC Thunder beefing up while conference rivals shrink down

It was a summer of shakeups in the Western Conference, as several organizations saw their rosters undergo reshuffles that ranged from minor tweaks to full-out facelifts.

Two teams with direct links to the Thunder in the Pelicans (last season's first-round opponent) and Minnesota Timberwolves (the Western Conference runner-ups in 2024) took part in these offseason shenanigans, and, interestingly enough, seemed to take a step back in the size department, which, last season, proved to be clear advantages they had over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and company.

Arguably the biggest move made in the league this offseason was by the T-Wolves, as they agreed to trade 7-foot, 248-pound cornerstone, Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks in exchange for a package headlined by All-NBA power forward, Julius Randle.

Though such a move still provides Minnesota with solid talent to surround remaining stars Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert, swapping KAT out certainly impacts their height advantage upfront, as Randle is roughly four inches shorter.

A similar downgrade in size was also witnessed with the Pelicans, as seasoned starting pivot, Jonas Valanciunas bolted in free agency and accepted a deal with the Washington Wizards to the tune of three years, $30 million.

Now, instead of the 6-foot-11 veteran manning the middle, recent reports are indicating that NOLA, who didn't find a direct replacement for the departed Valanciunas, could realistically use 6-foot-7, natural wing Herbert Jones as the club's starting center.

For the Thunder, the timing of such shakeups is quite ironic considering they sought to add more size to their lineup specifically to make up for their lackluster interior efforts when squaring off against the Pelicans during last year's postseason and, simultaneously, to try and keep up with the surging Timberwolves.

Now, a frontcourt whose size was once seen as a major weakness is now turning into a serious strength, especially against these two direct conference rivals.