OKC Thunder Could Reach 55 Wins for First Time in Eight Years
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Coming into the 2023-24 season, many national media members and Oklahoma City Thunder observers had high expectations for the team.
After winning 40 games last year, bringing back a First Team All-NBA guard in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, adding Chet Holmgren into the fold and an offseason of improvement from Jalen Williams, there was plenty of optimism around OKC.
The team's over/under win total coming into the season was set at 44 games, which the Thunder have already surpassed. While the majority of NBA media and fans knew Oklahoma City would have another competitive year, almost no one expected Mark Daigneault's team to reach 47 wins by mid-March and hold the top spot in the Western Conference.
Now, with 15 games left until the playoffs, the Thunder are just eight wins away from their first 55-win season since 2016.
The last time OKC achieved this feat, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka were still on the roster, helping the team take down the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs in the first two rounds of the playoffs before losing to the Golden State Warriors in a heartbreaking seven-game series.
In their final 15 regular season contests, Oklahoma City will play five games against teams with losing records. If OKC can take care of business against the Jazz, Raptors, Rockets, Hornets and Spurs, Daigneault's team would be just three wins away from its best performance in eight years.
During its final stretch, the Thunder will meet the Milwaukee Bucks twice and take on the Pacers, Mavericks, Celtics, Knicks, Suns, Pelicans, Kings and 76ers. Outside of the Boston Celtics, who boast the best record in the NBA, Oklahoma City has more wins than each of the aforementioned squads.
Still, all of the teams with winning records left on OKC's schedule are battling for playoff position and will be ready to play hard and compete with the Thunder. Of its 15 remaining games, seven will be at home in the Paycom Center.
Oklahoma City also has three back-to-back nights left on its schedule. Gilgeous-Alexander and company will meet the Pelicans on March 26 before taking on the Rockets the following night.
On April 2, OKC travels to Philadelphia for its final matchup against the 76ers before making the trek to Boston for an April 3 contest against the Celtics.
Finally, the Thunder will play the Kings and Spurs on April 9-10 back in the Modern Frontier. Daigneault's team will close the regular season with a home matchup against the Dallas Mavericks on April 14.
While Oklahoma City doesn't have an easy schedule to close out the regular season, OKC should be able to muster the eight wins need to tie its largest win total since 2016.
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