The OKC Thunder closed their regular season out Sunday afternoon against the Dallas Mavericks with a blowout 135-86 wire-to-wire win. The game got so out of hand that, at one point, the lead ballooned to as large as 58 points.
It was a fitting way to end the regular season, as all 15 active players played and scored for the Thunder.
Through 82 games, Oklahoma City managed to surpass the expectations not just of their devoted fanbase, but the entire NBA, as they went from a consistent lottery-bound ball club to clinching the highly coveted number one seed in the conference standings.
With the regular season officially in the books, we at TI thought it would be fun to revisit preseason predictions for the Thunder to see which ones we got right and which ones were off the mark.
Prediction No. 1) The OKC Thunder will have two All-Stars
This was probably our most ambitious prediction on the list, and it did not come to fruition. As things ultimately played out, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the Thunder's lone representative in the 2024 NBA All-Star game.
Perhaps next season, SGA will be joined by Chet Holmgren or Jalen Williams, but ultimately this prediction was wrong.
Prediction No. 2) The OKC Thunder will be top-10 in assists
This one was very close, as the Thunder did an excellent job moving the ball this season and getting everyone involved. However, in the end, Oklahoma City finished 11th in assists per game with 27.1, up from 24.4 in 2022-23.
Shai throws it ⬆️, Chet throws it ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/70dtzeFwBh
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) April 14, 2024
The Thunder missed out on being top-10 by a percentage point, as the Utah Jazz placed 10th at 27.2 assists per night, and the Indiana Pacers led the league in helpers, dishing an impressive 30.8.