What We Learned About the OKC Thunder From Opening Night

The Thunder won its season-opener in dramatic fashion on Tuesday night, knocking off the Rockets in double overtime 125-124. It was the perfect ending to a historic evening, as Oklahoma City finished up a ring ceremony and a banner raising with an emphatic victory.

There was no shortage of fireworks and drama, as Kevin Durant returned to a chorus of boos — and fouled Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the last play of the game to give the Thunder free throws. It also marked the return of NBA on NBC and the brand new broadcast. There were many different storylines to follow, and it provided unbelievable entertainment for the basketball community.

Both teams certainly looked rusty, and there will be a lot of growth to take place across the long season. It’s important to not make any knee-jerk reactions or judgements based on a singular game. But there are certainly a few nuggets that can be taken away from night one, and a handful of things we learned about this Thunder team:

The Thunder’s guard depth is the real deal.

Oklahoma City’s depth at guard is a huge luxury for a contending team to have. And this isn’t even a statement about Alex Caruso and Lu Dort — it goes far beyond those two players. On Tuesday night specifically, Cason Wallace and Ajay Mitchell showed off the Thunder’s embarrassment of riches in the backcourt.

Wallace’s playmaking leap looked like the real deal in the first game of the season, as he was a smart and willing passer while also attacking defenders off the dribble. His 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists stuffed the stat sheet and passed the eye test. He looked like a true do-it-all guard, and someone that can spot start on any night. Mitchell was simply terrific, too. He continues to make the scouting department look very smart, as his 16 points in 14 minutes off the bench were massive during the Thunder’s cold stretch.

The Thunder’s depth in the backcourt up and down the roster can be a huge bright spot this season. And the team will add lottery pick Nikola Topic into the fold sometime soon, too.

Oklahoma City needs Jalen Williams back as soon as possible.

While the secondary guards were terrific, it doesn’t change the fact that Oklahoma City is desperately missing Jalen Williams on both ends of the floor. It’s extremely noticeable when the shot clock starts ticking and the Thunder needs to make a move. Having an isolation player like Williams is a big deal, and was clearly missed. Without him in the lineup, it allows opponents to really key in on a game-plan centered around solely stopping Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

His absence was also very noticeable on the defensive end of the floor, too. The Thunder’s depth struggled against Houston’s depth, and couldn’t slow down Kevin Durant at times. Williams also would’ve helped on Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson, too. On a few key possessions, the Thunder couldn’t grab a defensive rebound — and Williams’ length would’ve been useful.

Chet Holmgren’s All-Star leap is here.

The biggest bright spot of Tuesday night’s game from a Thunder perspective was Chet Holmgren’s performance. He was absolutely terrific, totaling 28 points and 7 rebounds on 11-of-17 from the floor.

The best part about it for the Thunder was that everything he did all seems realistic and able to be replicated. It wasn’t like he got red hot from long range and just had one of those nights — he was 2-of-5 from distance, which is rock solid, but that was only 20% of his points. He was incredible in the midrange and in the paint, shooting over defenders with touch, and displayed a nice, new floater that worked at every angle. He was making the easy play.

Holmgren’s All-Star leap could be here, and Tuesday night was a great example of the offensive potential everyone always talks about.