Last year, the Thunder had a top-five defense. They ranked fourth in defensive rating and were tied for the leaders in steals and blocks per game. OKC’s defense was a big reason they won 57 games last year and earned the number-one seed. Their defense improved this offseason with the additions of Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein. In addition, they got rid of Josh Giddey, who was their weakest defender last year. With training camp beginning for the Thunder this week, let’s look at the upside of OKC’s defense this upcoming season.
This Thunder Defense Has The Potential to be Special
The Three-Point-of-Attack Defenders for the Thunder
The Thunder already had one of the best point-of-attack defenders in Lu Dort. They also had Cason Wallace, a rookie, coming off the bench who showed great potential to be another great defender. Now the Thunder have added Alex Caruso to the mix, coming off back-to-back years of being named to the all-defensive teams. The Thunder can rotate three defenders on the opposing team’s best player. Most teams in the NBA are lucky to have just one, maybe two of them, let alone three.
The top 10 in Perimeter Isolation Defense
1. Luguentz Dort
2. Alex Caruso
3. Jaden McDaniels
4. Vince Williams Jr.
5. Jeremy Sochan
6. OG Anunoby
7. Ausar Thompson
8. Derrick Jones Jr.
9. Isaac Okoro
10. Dillon Brooks-1000 minute min
— BBall Index (@The_BBall_Index) October 1, 2024
In addition, they all offer something unique on the defensive side as well. Dort brings physicality and will use his strength against you. While Caruso brings a little more height at 6-foot-5 and can cover taller players Dort and Wallace could struggle against. Finally, Wallace brings speed and quickness and is more of a finesse defender. The NBA is not ready for how dominant of a trio this group can be on the perimeter.
A @StatsWilliams special: Opponents are 14-of-54 (25.9%) when OKC rookie Cason Wallace is the primary defender in the playoffs, per @ESPNStatsInfo tracking. That’s the lowest field goal percentage allowed of any player to defend at least 50 shots this postseason. https://t.co/KZyAYpOG2c
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) May 14, 2024
Two of The Best Rim Protectors
Chet Holmgren, as a rookie, quickly became one of the best shot-blocking bigs in the NBA. He averaged 2.3 blocks per game last year and held opposing players to shoot only 52.9% within six feet from the rim, which was eighth-best among centers. The Thunder went out and got Isaiah Hartenstein to fix their biggest weakness of big man depth and rebounding. However, he also compliments what Chet does well on the defensively.
While Hartenstein is not quite the shot-blocker Holmgren is, he still offers it by blocking 1.6 shots last year. However, he also added 1.5 steals per game to complement the shot-blocking. While guarding the rim, Hartenstein held opposing players to shoot 53.7%, 12th best in the league. Even though there is a slight drop-off, both players are still great rim protectors in the NBA. The Thunder being able to have at least one of these players in at all times, as well as play alongside each other, will allow this defense to reach heights it couldn’t last year.
The Thunder Have Other Complimentary Defenders
If you thought their defensive ability ended there, you would be wrong. The Thunder also have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, amongst others, to complement those five players on defense. Williams was asked to cover the other team’s second-best offensive player last year and did a fantastic job. He has the size and strength to cover positions 1-4. Williams’ ability to cover bigger power forwards at his height allowed the Thunder to run small-ball lineups in the last two seasons.
Then the Thunder also have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who seems like he is always in the right position on defense to make a play. He was tied for the leader in steals and was top three in deflections per game. Shai is not the one-on-one defender the other players are, but he is a smart defender and knows how to be in the best position to get steals and deflections. Ultimately, Shai is the prototypical of what a great team defender looks like.
Who on The Thunder do you Attack on the Defense?
Finally, in the playoffs, usually, teams try to find the best matchup. They try to put the other team’s worst defender on their best player to have a mismatch. That is what the Thunder did to the Pelicans and Mavericks in the playoffs last year. They tried to scheme up plays to have mismatches, with C.J. McCollum and Luka Doncic covering the Thunder’s best scorers. However, this Thunder team has no weakness on defense. Opposing teams will have a hard time figuring out who to attack when they get to the playoffs. In the Thunder’s potential lineup of Shai-Caruso-Dort-Williams-Chet, there is no one that you can consistently go at and think you have the advantage.
If this Thunder team remains healthy, and the new players mesh with the already established core. The sky is the limit for how good this defense can become. The NBA is not ready for how scary this team looks defensively and the potential that they have this year.
