Oklahoma City Thunder’s Rise as 2024-25 Contenders

If you have missed out on the previous season, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s story has been quite a promising one to remember, and it cannot be denied that the team has enjoyed one of the most impeccable rises to prominence in the league. With the Thunder now preparing for what could be a much-anticipated playoff run, it is easy to say that the expectations are indeed high enough for the Thunder to actually make the best out of their game at this point.

The last time the Thunder had a promising campaign was back in the 2020-21 season, and now there is a lot of expectation for the team to deliver a huge run that will see them back to the NBA Finals stage for the first time since the 2012 NBA Finals. But will the Thunder make the most of the chances?

Previous Season in Review

For the first time in three years, the Thunder have emerged past the .500 mark – and if you are not impressed, OKC has also managed to breach the 50-win total, which is something that they haven’t reached since the 2012-13 season. The 57-25 record is the best they’ve had in a decade, and it cannot be denied that the expectations have spiked well for the Thunder as they now seek to come up with an impressive campaign that has been quite the story of all rebuilds.

So far, the Thunder have shown the rest of the NBA world that they have what it takes to go up against the biggest contenders in the Western Conference. OKC was a promising team to watch in almost every game, showing that they have a strong potential to be the next contender team in the NBA – and being able to reach bigger heights in the West despite the fact that they have to go up against many elite teams is such a strong promise in OKC’s future.

Chet Holmgren’s addition to the team was seamless, what was a Play-In team suddenly became a promising contender on the big stage with Holmgren being an anchor on the offensive end and being a stalwart force on defense proved to be a huge factor in their success. Jalen Williams has also ascended into being a reliable scorer in the game, capable of drawing up plays and creating flashy offensive plays while also being a high-flying defender.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander image

Of course, what helped the Oklahoma City Thunder launch its biggest season yet was the fact that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has leaped into an MVP-esque player. His biggest performances of the season have helped OKC take charge in many games and jump out to the top of the Western Conference – with a lot of impressive game-winners and clutch plays to add to his game. He was a phenom in scoring 30-point games, and he sure did prove that he can take his game to the next level with elite performances that would go on to elevate the Thunder to the playoffs.

Potential Starting Five

The Thunder made some impressive swings in the offseason with key trades and signings, and this may just shape their incoming roster considering the fact that the team is one of the highly-talented squads and has a deep bench rotation as well. At this point, it is easy to project that Oklahoma City will come up with a promising lineup that has what it takes to come up with impressive performances on the big stage. Here’s how the Thunder may look for its starting five in the season:

Oklahoma City Thunder: Projected Starting Five + Stats

Position	Name	Points	Rebounds	Assists
PG	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	30.1	5.5	6.2
SG	Luguentz Dort	10.9	3.6	1.4
SF	Jalen Wiliams	19.1	4.0	4.5
PF	Isaiah Hartenstein	7.8	8.3	2.5
C	Chet Holmgren	16.5	7.9	2.4

While Dort remains the starter for the Thunder, it is expected that Alex Caruso, who is the latest addition to the team after replacing Josh Giddey, will share some minutes with him on the rotation. It is also expected that the Thunder may consider going for a small-ball lineup with Holmgren at the helm, making it an SGA-Dort-Caruso-Jdub-Chet lineup for most scenarios in the coming games.

Key Player to Watch

OKC has a lot of players who have improved over the course of the previous season. However, what experts are looking out for in the coming run is to see how well Chet Holmgren improves in his coming games after a full NBA season. Fans are also on the lookout for Aaron Wiggins, who is expected to get more minutes off the bench this season for OKC.

Holmgren was a dominant force in the game on both ends of the floor, averaging 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.0 blocks per game – playing all 82 games in his rookie season along with fellow rookie Cason Wallace. Chet has also been a consistent shooter in the game, and it cannot be denied that the center is slated to come up with some big improvements in his game. Many critics point out that his presence in the paint will be helped with Hartenstein aboard to produce better points and massive defensive stops.

Chet Holmgren image

Wiggins, on the other hand, is expected to become a reliable spark off the bench as he did in the previous season. Now that the Thunder roster is quite intact compared to the last run, it means that Wiggins will definitely be a spark plug with his impeccable scoring and reliable cuts to the paint. Despite averaging just 6.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game last season, he has been a good backup scorer, and he has even managed to drop multiple 20-point games last season on that note.

The Last Five Seasons

The last five seasons have not been easy for the Thunder. OKC went on to rebuild after a Game 7 loss in the first round of the 2020 NBA Playoffs, completely revamping its squad and coming up with different players to build around SGA. Eventually, OKC had to endure two poor-performing seasons before they actually enjoyed a big break in the 2022-23 season – where they made it to the Play-In Tournament and was a win away from returning to the NBA Playoffs.

Oklahoma City Thunder Record in the Last Five Years

Season	Record	Winning Percentage	Result
2019-20	44-28	.611	Lost in First Round
2020-21	22-50	.306	Missed Playoffs
2021-22	24-58	.293	Missed Playoffs
2022-23	40-42	.488	Lost in Play-In Tournament
2023-24	57-25	.695	Lost in Conference Semis

OKC went on to exceed expectations in the 2023-24 season, where they ended up as the first seed in a war-torn Western Conference – and winning a tie-breaker over the defending champions, Denver Nuggets to cap off a massive season that the team has been waiting for in a long time. Now it is time for them to capitalize the learnings they’ve got in their playoff run last season and build towards a promising run in the postseason.

What to Expect from the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2024-25 Season?

This is a season that can be a landmark campaign for the Thunder now more than ever. This has been the peak of the Thunder since the Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook era of the team, and it cannot be denied that it strikes a huge resemblance to the biggest winning years of OKC, and now it is time to prove that they have learned from their mistakes by capping it off with a promising playoff campaign.

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