The new NBA season is over a month away, with the first game being played on October 22nd. The Oklahoma City Thunder don’t play their first game until October 24th. Regardless, with the season right around the corner, it is time to give early Thunder award predictions for the 2024-2025 NBA season. OKC had an impressive season last year, winning 57 games and earning the number-one seed in the West. In addition, they had one of the better off-seasons with two big additions. This year, they will look to achieve greater heights by winning a championship. We will look at the roster and predict who will be the MVP, MIP, DP, 6th Man, and ROY for this Thunder team.
Thunder Roster Award Predictions For 2024-25 NBA Season
Most Valuable Player – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
The Thunder MVP award has to go to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He has been their best player since 2021. OKC will only go as far as he can take them. In addition, he has averaged at least 30 points in back-to-back years. He is consistent and rarely shoots below 40% from the field. Furthermore, he is a great leader, focusing more on helping his team win a game than anything else. The Thunder wouldn’t have won 57 games and been the number-one seed last year if Gilgeous-Alexander had not been on the team. That is the reason he was runner-up for the NBA MVP award. Finally, he is a perfect example of what the most valuable player on a team should look like and is an easy pick for this prediction.
Most Improved Player – Jalen Williams
This one was hard to pick as it could have gone to a couple of players. However, Jalen Williams came on strong in his sophomore season last year, averaging 19.1 points per game while increasing his efficiency. He has become a reliable co-star to Gilgeous-Alexander and a good second option for the Thunder. His jump has been similar to Gilgeous-Alexander’s from year one to year two of his NBA career. They both made big improvements in points per game. OKC is hopeful he will take another big leap from year two to year three and become an All-Star or All-NBA level player. Finally, his play style is very similar to how Gilgeous-Alexander likes to play and has benefitted from learning from him.
Defensive Player of The Year – Lu Dort
The Thunder’s Defensive Player of the Year award prediction was the hardest to choose from, as there are multiple options, such as Chet Holmgren and Alex Caruso. However, the nod goes to Luguentz Dort for this award. What he gives night-to-night by covering the other team’s best player and limiting them every game is remarkable. OKC would not have swept the New Orleans Pelicans last year in the playoffs if it wasn’t for Dort’s defense on Brandon Ingram, taking him out of the game completely.
What Holmgren brings on the defensive end with his shot-blocking ability is also very important. However, Dort taking a team’s best option away or limiting them is why we gave him the nod over him. Finally, Dort was picked over Caruso because of the uncertainty of whether he’ll start. Also, because Dort will still be the Thunder’s main point-of-attack defender.
6th Man of the Year – Cason Wallace
Like the last one, the 6th Man of the Year award prediction was hard to choose. Depending on the team they play, the Thunder might deploy a different starting lineup for every game. Therefore, we wanted to choose someone who would come off the bench every game. Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso will likely fluctuate in the starting five too many times for them to be considered the sixth man. For that reason, we have decided to give it to Cason Wallace. He has the most upside to improve on the Thunder’s bench as he is entering his second season in the NBA. Wallace is already a good on-ball defender. If he improves his offense a bit more, he could become a serious weapon for the OKC off the bench.
Rookie of The Year – Dillon Jones
Finally, the last award goes to Dillon Jones. The Thunder have four rookies this year. This award would have most likely gone to Nikola Topic. However, he is expected to miss the whole year. The other two rookies are on two-way contracts and won’t have the chance to make an impact on the Thunder. Jones is the only rookie on the 15-man roster who can play, and he will have the best chance to make an impact. However, his role will be limited, with OKC being a very deep team. Regardless, he will likely be the Thunder rookie who shines and gets the most opportunities.
