OKC Thunder Lands at No. 3 in ESPN Future Power Rankings

ESPN released its NBA Future Power Rankings on Wednesday, placing the Thunder at the No. 3 spot just behind the Boston Celtics and the reigning NBA Champions in the Denver Nuggets.

Analysts Kevin Pelton, Bobby Marks, Andre Snellings and Tim Bontemps determined the success of each team over the course of the next three seasons, looking at a variety of factors within each franchise. Compiling grades for player talent, management, money, market and draft outlook, this is an assessment for entire organizations rather than solely the on-court product.

Oklahoma City placed No. 7 in player talent, No. 2 in management, No. 6 in money, No. 28 in market and No. 1 in draft potential. These ranks gave the Thunder an overall score of 69.8, tying the Nuggets exactly at No. 2.

A year ago, Oklahoma City placed No. 23 in this assessment.

“Jumping up 20 spots in these rankings from this time last season only magnifies the hype and anticipation surrounding this young Thunder squad,” Bontemps wrote.

“A first-team All-NBA talent in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is surrounded by emerging young talent like Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Josh Giddey. Add in a bevy of future draft assets and cap space to play with and it should be a fun few years ahead for Sam Presti & Co.”

As shown in the Thunder’s four preseason games played thus far, this team has a chance to exceed expectations yet again in 2023-24. A 40-42 team last season, surpassing an expected win total of around 25 games, it’s difficult to see them make a leap of that magnitude once again this season.

But with its young core and Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way as an efficient 31.4 points per game scorer a year ago, many are starting to speculate how close this team might fall towards 50 wins this season.

The Thunder are expected to improve by about four wins this season, which would leave them at 44-38 on the year. It’s not extremely farfetched to think Oklahoma City could reach the 50-win mark, though, especially as Holmgren and Williams emerge alongside an improved Giddey and multiple additions to the roster in the offseason.

Time will tell as the season begins and games start to hold real weight, but for now they must continue to mesh and build chemistry within the final stages of preseason and training camp.

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