1 Weakness every Thunder player must improve upon in 2024-25

The Oklahoma City Thunder had a stellar offseason and have officially emerged as one of the top contenders heading into the 2024-25 campaign. However, even with their rise in the title-odds department, they cannot afford to become too confident.

In truth, there's always room for improvement, and, particularly when it comes to the players within the rotation, there are weaknesses that every contributor should strive to upgrade.

Areas that every Thunder player must improve in 2024-25

Excluding rookies and players on two-way contracts, as they simply lack an NBA baseline to analyze, today we discuss one attribute within every Thunder player's repertoire that still needs to be honed.

Aaron Wiggins: Rebounding 

Aaron Wiggins' natural position is shooting guard based on his skill set and 6-foot-5, 190-pound frame. Because the Thunder are loaded with guards, he will be at small forward for a large proportion of his minutes. 

Wiggins must subsequently crash the glass with a frenzy and rebound above his weight class. The Maryland product only averaged an uninspiring 3.7 defensive rebounds per 75 possessions last season, which is not good enough when playing next to two guards.

If he can provide a bit more juice on the boards, it would give more flexibility for Mark Daigneault’s lineup choices. 

Alex Caruso: Driving 

Alex Caruso attacking the defense off the catch and creating advantages adds yet another source of offense for the Thunder, especially their bench unit. Per NBA.com, he was 13th in assist percentage on drives of the 143 players with at least 300 such situations, but Caruso also had the second-largest turnover percentage to add onto such a metric.

Cleaning up his mistakes is key, and it will probably be easier when surrounded by the Thunder’s offensive weapons compared to the Bulls’ lackluster pieces.  

Cason Wallace: Playmaking 

Wallace excelled as a 3-and-D piece for OKC, but his playmaking did not carve up defenses. 113 guards played 1,000 minutes last year. Wallace wound up 100th in high-value assists per 75 possessions (via Basketball Index). His low ranking was partly due to his role, yet it’s also because he needs to improve his manipulation off the dribble, ability to create separation, and vision. 

Wallace morphing into a capable bench creator would be a game-changer for this team. He was a high-volume pick-and-roll handler at Kentucky and performed well from an efficiency standpoint, so he owns a background in running actions. 

Chet Holmgren: Self creation 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams are the primary scorers, but the Thunder require that third guy who breaks down scrambling defenses on the fly and punishes mismatches. Chet Holmgren’s blend of size and skill makes him an extremely intriguing candidate for this position. 

When he set his mind on taking the ball himself and creating off the bounce, it was difficult for opponents to stop him from getting to the rim. He’s too quick, flexible, and lengthy.

However, Holmgren needs to improve his turnarounds, fadeways, and pull-up shots in order to be a true offensive threat. Last season, the rookie produced just 0.73 points per shot on dribble-jumpers, which placed him in the 23rd percentile via Synergy Sports. A tighter handle would do wonders for him. 

Isaiah Hartenstein: Long-range catch-and-shoot success

Isaiah Hartenstein is easily the biggest free-agency poach for the Thunder this summer and, quite frankly, in the club's entire history. His rebounding, screening, rim protection, size, toughness, and passing fill huge areas of need. Although he does not require a 3-point shot to be highly effective this coming season, it would make the Thunder even deadlier and as close to scheme-proof as possible. 

Oklahoma City loves to have their centers pop out of screens instead of rolling because it opens driving lanes for Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams. A five-out offense is their dream, so Hartenstein developing into at least a guy who must be accounted for on catch-and-shoot triples would facilitate this offensive game plan. 

Isaiah Joe: Cutting

His elite three-point shooting forced defenders to constantly stay attached to him. As a result, Isaiah Joe was third among all guards in off-ball gravity behind only Stephen Curry and CJ McCollum.

If Joe can do a better job of leveraging this pressure and burning defenders via backdoor cuts, then it would cause them to slightly hesitate more often. That extra inch of space from an indecisive defender is all Joe requires to get a shot off. 

Jalen Williams: Ball handling 

Of the 264 players with at least 1,000 minutes logged last season, only three shot 70 percent or better at the rim, 40+ percent from deep, and dished out a minimum of four high-value assists per 75 possessions. They were LeBron James, Kevin Durant… and Jalen Williams. 

J-Dub’s all-around offensive game is on an All-NBA trajectory, and it’s hard to poke holes in his production.

The biggest weakness is probably his handle, which held him back from taking over games during the playoffs. It’s a bit loose at the moment, and Williams struggled to beat guys off the bounce as a result. If he improves his handle and burst, then there is nothing a defense can do against him. 

Jaylin Williams: Rim protection 

Because Jaylin Williams is a capable long-range shooter and crafty passer, he gives the Thunder offensive versatility at the backup center spot. That said, defense has been an issue, especially inside the paint, as 59 centers played at least 750 minutes last year and J-Will ranked 57th in rim defensive field goal percentage versus expected and 53rd in block rate on contests. 

An undersized frame (6-foot-9, 240 pounds) and poor vertical athleticism are strong barriers, but Williams must find a way to improve his rim protection, otherwise opponents will play him off the court. Let's not forge, the Thunder were outscored by 29 points across his 127 playoff minutes played last season. In comparison, they were +75 in Chet Holmgren’s 345 playoff minutes. 

Kenrich Williams: Free throws 

Kenny Hustle does a little of everything at a respectable level, which makes him an all-around solid role player. The free throw shooting though…it’s ugly.

Williams is a career 51.9 percent shooter from the charity stripe, which checks in lower than Shaquille O’Neal’s rate of 52.7. 

Will he get to the line often? That’s a definite no, but the margins are extremely thin in the postseason.

OKC cannot afford to leave a couple of points on the table from Williams missing the rare free throw attempt. Plus, teams may intentionally foul him in an effort to slow down the team's offense. The veteran has to work on this weakness and remove this potential option for opponents. 

Luguentz Dort: Finishing 

His outside shooting took a major step forward this past season, as he shot 39.4 percent from three-point range during the regular season. Despite Lu Dort’s tough series against Dallas, the veteran was also a 39.1 percent shooter for the playoffs as well.

Still, he needs to massively improve inside the paint. 

Out of the 168 players with at least 150 restricted area attempts, Dort ranked 161 in restricted area field goal percentage. He also had the fourth-largest turnover percentage of the 143 players with at least 300 drives.

If Dort is going to hit the next offensive level of his progressions, then he must improve his touch on layups and expand his passing vision when attacking the basket.  

Ousmane Dieng: Aggression 

The 21-year-old has shown occasional flashes of ball-handling and creation at 6-foot-9. His skill set is too abstract and theoretical at the moment, though. Perimeter shooting could certainly be the answer here, but Dieng’s lack of aggression gets the nod for me.  

He struggles to handle contact and seemingly tries to avoid it at all costs. Essentially, any sort of defensive pressure throws Ousmane Dieng off balance and derails his offensive plan. Adding muscle to his skinny frame would help, but the former lottery pick needs to embrace physicality and change his mindset. As long as Dieng stays passive, it’s unlikely that he will develop into a rotational-caliber wing (unless his three-point shooting suddenly becomes elite). 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Step-back long-range shooting

Last season, nobody averaged more drives per game than SGA, who subsequently finished sixth in points in the paint per game.

His ability to knife through the first line of defense and get to his spots around the basket is unmatched. As a result, New Orleans and Dallas both packed the paint against the Thunder during the playoffs and had their on-ball defenders essentially back-pedaling to prepare against drives. 

If Shai ramps up his step-back 3-point volume and efficiency, then it will force defenders to aggressively pressure him at the top of the key, making it easier to blow past them off the dribble.

Drop coverage would also not be a viable option for opposing big men when SGA receives a high ball screen, thus removing a camping obstacle from his path to the rim.