Historic 3-Point Shooting Season Has OKC Thunder Poised for Playoff Run
The Thunder led the league in 3-point shooting, which could make them a significant threat in the playoffs.
Shooting has eluded Thunder teams in the past, but this season has seen a historic shift.
The Oklahoma City Thunder enter the playoffs as the West’s No. 1 seed, maintaining a top five offense and defense. However, one category has stood out more than any other this season.
Oklahoma City led the league in 3-point shooting percentage, making 38.9% of its looks from beyond the arc.
In the 2021-22 season, the Thunder ranked last in the league in 3-point percentage at only 32.3%. Along with being the worst in the league that season, it was the worst outside shooting season in Thunder history.
The Thunder improved from outside last season, shooting 35.6% and ranking 17th. Much of the team’s improvement in 2022-23 can be attributed to the addition of Isaiah Joe.
Oklahoma City signed Joe before the start of last season, and he quickly became a staple of the rotation after his heroics in an early season game in Dallas. Joe shot 40.9% from 3-point range on 5.4 attempts per game that season, marking the best percentage by any player in team history with at least five attempts per game.
However, for the Thunder to become the best shooting team in the league, they needed more than one great shooter. This season, the Thunder saw an immense shooting improvement from much of their rotation and drafted one of the best rookie shooters.
Alongside Joe, Cason Wallace, Jalen Williams and Aaron Wiggins all shot better than 40% from 3-point range on at least 100 attempts.
That group helped the Thunder become the 17th team in league history to have at least four players shoot 40% or better from 3-point range on at least 100 attempts and the first team to do so since 2020-21. Of the previous 16 teams to accomplish that feat, 10 made at least the conference finals, and four won the NBA title.
In the past 10 seasons, four No. 1 seeds have led the league in 3-point percentage, with the worst playoff finish of those teams being the Miami Heat, who finished a win away from the NBA Finals in 2022. In that same stretch, three league leaders have won championships, and all but one NBA champion has finished in the top eight in 3-point percentage.
However, that does not necessarily guarantee playoff success. Only one of the past seven regular-season leaders in 3-point percentage has finished in the top five in that category in the playoffs.
How the Thunder will perform from beyond the arc in the playoffs is unknown, but history is on their side to make a deep run after an impressive regular season.
Want to join the discussion? Like Inside the Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.
