The Oklahoma City Thunder took a huge step in their rebuild last season. The Thunder finished the season with a 40-42 record, falling only a game short of a postseason berth after defeating the New Orleans Pelicans and later failing to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Play-In tournament.
With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leaping to superstardom, several core pieces of the rebuild took positive strides, including Luguentz Dort, Jalen Williams, and Josh Giddey.
This was all done without the 2022 second-overall pick, Chet Holmgren, who missed last season with a foot injury. Holmgren was a full go for training camp and played significant minutes in the Summer League and preseason. After a relatively quiet offseason, Oklahoma City is primed to become the surprise team of the Western Conference.
2023-24 Oklahoma City Thunder Season Preview
2023 Draft
OKC brought another lottery pick aboard by trading up to No. 10 to select Kentucky combo guard Cason Wallace. At the start of the rebuild, the vision of this OKC roster was having anyone on the floor be able to bring the ball up while also emphasizing ball movement and cutting.
At six-foot-four, 193 pounds, and a six-foot-eight wingspan, Wallace is similar to current Thunder defensive ace Dort. While Wallace received a ton of on-ball reps in his time at Kentucky, he will likely be playing off the ball to compliment Giddey, Williams, and Gilgeous-Alexander.
At pick 50, the Thunder selected forward Keyontae Johnson out of Kansas State. Johnson won the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year in his lone season for the Wildcats. He is known for collapsing during an NCAA basketball game in 2020 while at Florida. He was put in a medically induced coma, but that did not deter him. Johnson is on a two-way deal and will likely begin his career with the OKC Blue. But Mark Daigneault is well known for exploring his bench and giving guys opportunities to play.
One Player Who Must Take a Leap
Giddey, in his second year, had a scoring increase of 4.1 points per game last season, improving his shooting percentages from the field and deep. He noted during media day that an emphasis for him this offseason was getting to the free throw line more and not relying on his floater as much. Giddey averaged 1.9 free throw attempts per game last season. While the drives for Giddey have been consistent, his ability to draw contact and get to the free-throw line could have improved. His aggressiveness from his FIBA play translated to the preseason, seeing a decent-sized increase in free throw makes and attempts.
Upcoming Free Agents
The Thunder have four players who will be free agents in 2024:
Bertans is a 39.8% career three-point shooter who could be a valuable trade asset down the road for OKC.
After being waived by the 76ers, Joe improved the team’s spacing by shooting a career-best 40.9% from three on 5.4 attempts per game.
A 2020 first-round pick, Pokusevski did not receive a contract extension before the October 23 deadline. This makes him a restricted free agent next summer.
Wiggins was a second-round pick in the 2021 draft and has been a steady presence off the bench with his defensive prowess and solid three-point shooting.
