Three Things OKC Thunder Learned During 2024 NBA Playoff Run

The Oklahoma City Thunder have learned some valuable lessons during their 2024 NBA Playoff run.

May 18, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) reacts after the / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder wrapped up their first playoff run as a young core. In their return to the biggest stage since the 2019-20 season, the OKC Thunder were able to secure their first playoff series win since 2016, including just the second sweep in franchise history winning in short order against the New Orleans Pelicans in the opening round.

Oklahoma City ripped off 57 wins after being a sub-.500 team a year ago, climbing the ranks in the Wild West en route to the youngest No. 1 seed of all time. All of this led to their second-round exit at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks who knocked off the Thunder in six games to punch their ticket to the Western Conference Finals.

An overall strong showing for the Thunder in their initial postseason run also provided many lessons for the group to take with them into future seasons.

---

Urgency is the name of the game.

May 18, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives to / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder quickly found out the intensity and urgency it takes to win a series against a formidable foe. There is a delicate balance between the need to stay composed and relaxed verse needing to press the issue.

Dallas played like the hungrier and more desperate team the length of the series, and in just three instances the Thunder played with their hair on fire this series: Game 1, The End of Game 4 and Game 6. They went 2-1 in that stretch with the loss coming at the buzzer.

Part of that urgency comes with the top of the roster understanding the need to take difficult shots or less-than-perfect looks. While you do not want to shift squarely into shot chucking, the difficult tango of tenacity.

As evident by this series and this entire postseason, you just never know. PJ Washington's willingness to put up shots helped the Mavericks, while the Thunder far too often pump-faked away chances.

Ultimately, with the total score of the series tied and each team's impressive defensive performances, it came down to the Thunder missing open chances and needing to learn valuable playoff lessons.

---

Learning How to Utilize Chet Holmgren Offensively

May 15, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) reacts / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder have to figure out how to get Chet Holmgren going offensively - consistently -and the answer on the surface is not hard: Better playmaking and more trust. Holmgren is a seven-foot unicorn who can score the ball at all three levels, create for himself, and keep the ball moving. It should never be a laboring process to get the Gonzaga product sparked offensively.

While some of this falls squarely on Holmgren's shoulders who struggled in the above category of urgency and a healthy dose of "selfishness" as the rookie big man often time looked to get the Thunder into the next action rather than take his own shot, the table setters around him did him no favors all season long.

In the Pick-and-Roll Holmgren is such a versatile weapon with the ability to pop, roll, finish plays, or be used as a redirecting playmaking hub at the nail that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams have to trust him early and often with passes to their big who has proven it wouldn't result in him chucking away chances. If nothing is there, then OKC could reset with their iso-scoring tough bucket-getters.

Holmgren turned in an impressive 1.297 points per possession as a pick-and-roll partner placing him in the 77th percentile and averaging out to just 3.1 possessions a game, a number that has to climb next season.

With Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams each improving as lead ball handlers for Oklahoma City, the Thunder could also stand to benefit from bringing in another guard to help take some of the playmaking duties off the top-scoring duo.

---

The Ability to Pivot is Critical

May 11, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault reacts during / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder having the ability to pivot will make navigating a series smoother next season. When three-point shots are clanking, finding a new way to attack the defense will be critical - which sometimes is as easy as putting a fresh lineup in the game.

The Thunder made a massive shake-up to their starting lineup in Game 5, though it can be argued it was three games too late with the writing on the wall of how the series would go for the young guard after Game 1.

Along with the lineup shift, the Oklahoma City Thunder could've stood to have a true change-of-pace big man in their toolbox. While advocating for them to shift away from their identity is foolish, using one of 15 spots on a caliber of player you don't already have could help in a pinch. That sense of craft is how Rick Carlisle used Boban Marjanovic in a playoff series against the Clippers to junk up segments of a game. Dallas eventually lost that series in a dogfight but the chance to be in the series stemmed from that change.

The Thunder's biggest option they could go to down the stretch of games - as they did in the series-deciding contest- was Holmgren with Jaylin Williams and the two lost a critical possession off a missed Dallas free throw.

Ultimately, there are way more positives than negatives after this season but the Thunder still have many lessons to learn as they venture off into their bright future.

---

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.