The 2024-2025 NBA season is set to kick off in one week, and NBA fans are excited for the season to start. With the season starting, it isn’t too soon to start looking ahead. It is time to start looking ahead at some of the end-of-the-year awards and who has a good chance to claim those this season. The Thunder have one of the deepest and most talented teams in the entire NBA. Today, we will look at the chances that the Thunder players have of winning some of the end-of-the-year awards.
Thunder Chances at Getting Each End of The Year Awards
MVP Award (50% Chance)
The Thunder have the best chance to win the MVP award at the end of the year. The NBA GM survey had Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the front-runner for the MVP award. Shai has averaged 30 points per game or more in the last two seasons and has become one of the best scorers in the NBA. In those two years, he has finished top five in MVP voting, finishing fifth in 2023 and second last year. However, some people thought Shai was robbed of the MVP award last year because of what he was able to accomplish last year. Shai will have some tough competition for the award, most notably Luka Doncic, and Nikola Jokic. Nevertheless, Shai is in the perfect situation to have a shot at claiming the award as long as he stays healthy and plays in the requirement of 65 games.
Defensive Player of the Year Award (10% Chance)
The Thunder have some players who have a shot at winning this award. However, it is unlikely they will be able to claim the award. Chet Holmgren is the Thunder’s best chance at getting this award. Last season, he was one of the best shot-blocking bigs and rim protectors in the entire NBA. He averaged 2.3 blocks per game, which was tied for fourth-best.
In addition, the Thunder have Lu Dort and Alex Caruso, who have a shot at getting it. However, it is unlikely that either of these three will win, as other great players are competing for this award. Victor Wembanyama, Bam Adebayo, and Anthony Davis are considered frontrunners for DPOY. Holmgren has the best chance, but he will need to add more steals with his blocks to have a shot at winning it. Ultimately, the Thunder are more likely to have three players make an all-defensive team than to have one player finish in the top three for DPOY voting.
Rookie of the Year Award (1% Chance)
This is the award that the Thunder don’t have any hope of getting. The Thunder’s top draft choice this year in Nikola Topic is out for the entire year. This leaves the team with Dillon Jones and two rookies who are on two-way contracts to win the award. Since Topic is hurt, Jones has the best chance of winning, but he won’t have enough playing time to have a chance. There are two just too many rookies who will be playing more minutes and have a better chance of winning. The Thunder couldn’t get the award when they had Josh Giddey, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren in the race for it.
NBA Most Improved Player (25% Chance)
The Thunder have a good chance of winning this award. Jalen Willams was voted in the GM survey as the most likely to have a breakout season. Williams increased his points per game by five from his rookie season to last season and could make a similar jump this year. He has already taken strides to increase his three-point shooting volume, which will also increase his scoring. However, Jalen will struggle to significantly increase his scoring playing alongside Shai and the depth that the Thunder have. Another player who could win this award for the Thunder is Chet Holmgren. However, Jalen will have a better chance of consistently being the team’s second scoring option and scoring in the 20s per game than Chet.
Sixth Man of the Year Award (35% Chance)
This award the Thunder has players who have a chance at winning it however, it is hard to predict who will be the sixth man. Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso are the best options for the Thunder to win this award, but both may fluctuate in the starting lineup in certain games. If Hartenstein or Caruso were consistently the sixth man throughout the season, then their chances to win would slightly increase. The Thunder also have other players who could be in play to try and win it, like Cason Wallace, Isaiah Joe, and Aaron Wiggins. However, Caruso and Hartenstein have better chances of consistently making more of an impact in every game than the other three. Finally, it doesn’t seem like Caruso or Hartenstein will get big enough numbers to be in play for it, and that is why the chance is at 35%.
Clutch Player of the Year Award (50% Chance)
This is another award the Thunder have a shot at winning. Shai has had a lot of clutch moments in his career with making big shots. In addition, the Thunder was one of the better clutch teams last year. They went 24-14 in clutch games, tied for third-best. Shai is the player on the Thunder they want to take those big-moment shots. They want him to take over games in the fourth quarter if they need him to. However, even with their success in the clutch, it will be hard for Shai to win this award. The reason for this is that there are a lot of other great clutch performers in the NBA. They also may get more opportunities to make more of an impact in the clutch.
Coach of the Year Award (15% Chance)
The Thunder have one of the best coaches in the NBA, Mark Daigneault. He got this Thunder team to overachieve in the last two seasons and ahead of schedule in their rebuild. This was a big reason for Mark winning coach of the year last year. Since he won coach of the year last year, it will be harder for him to repeat. This award usually goes to a different coach every year to recognize different coaches’ accomplishments. The only way Mark can win this award in back-to-back years is if they have a historic season or break records in their season, and no one else is worth winning. This is why he is getting a 15% chance to repeat.
Executive of the Year Award (65% Chance)
Finally is the Executive of the Year award. The Thunder have one of the best GMs in the entire league, Sam Presti. He has made many big decisions and has completed one of the best rebuilds ever in NBA history. This team was one of the worst teams in the NBA in 2022. However, in just two seasons, with his ability to draft and improve this team, they became the youngest one seed in NBA history.
Presti also drafted three players in three straight seasons who would go on to win MVP’s. His resume in drafting talent is through the roof. However, the reason that he is given a 65% chance to win this award is the offseason moves he made. He was able to get Caruso and Hartenstein to significantly improve this roster. If the Thunder have a successful season, Presti should be the front-runner for winning this award in which he finished in second last year.
