At the rate at which the OKC Thunder force opposing teams into turnovers, one would think they'd constantly be running up and down the court in an attempt to capitalize on the break.
Interestingly enough, however, this is quite the opposite approach they've taken in 2025-26.
Through 25 games played, Oklahoma City ranks ninth in blocks (5.4), second in steals (10.2), and first in forced turnovers (17.9). In this modern era of play that's generally devoted to high-end pace of play, the natural belief is that this is a prime recipe for fast transition sets.
Instead, the slow-it-down Thunder, who rank a middling 15 in pace, have shied away from this kind of approach, and the proof is in the fact that they place a lowly 20 in fastbreak points per game at 14.2.
Thunder have shied away from capitalizing on fastbreak opportunities
Now, of course, this does not mean that the Thunder won't look to push for fastbreak scoring opportunities from time to time.
In fact, just this past Wednesday, they recorded 18 of such points off of 20 forced turnovers during their 138-89 blowout NBA Cup game win over the Phoenix Suns.
However, it's clear that coach Mark Daigneault prefers this team to prioritize effectively getting into their offensive sets rather than have them consistently run and gun their way toward potential fast buckets out in transition.
Needless to say, this kind of philosophy has worked wonders for the dynasty-pushing Thunder.
So far into their title defense tour, Oklahoma City is fifth in offensive rating (120.5), third in both three-point (38.1) and field-goal (50.1) percentage, and second in points per game (123.6).
From a more individual standpoint, they also find themselves being led by the reigning scoring champion and current runner-up to Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who's posting 32.6 points per night, and find seven players on their roster averaging scoring numbers in the double-digits.
Though most teams are looking to out-run their opposition and take advantage of muffed possessions on the break, the Thunder have leaned into more of a methodical approach to their on-court production.
From the eye test, advanced metrics, and winning percentage, their reluctance to follow the norm has paid off well.
So while they may rank down in the bottom 10 in fastbreak points alongside the likes of the lottery-bound Indiana Pacers and Utah Jazz, they find themselves on track to be thrust into the same conversation as arguably the greatest team in league history, right up with the 1996 Chicago Bulls and 2016 Golden State Warriors.