After Win Over Brooklyn, Oklahoma City Sits at No. 8 in the Western Conference

The patience in the process is paying off. After two long seasons of enduring losses and injuries, Oklahoma City is in the thick of the postseason playoff talk just weeks away from the season's conclusion. The Thunder are ahead of schedule, and at this point, the team's progression is simply remarkable.

After knocking off the surging Brooklyn Nets in Oklahoma City Tuesday night, the Thunder seems to be positioning itself for a potential playoff berth. The team is gaining ground on Portland and New Orleans, who both happened to lose on the same night.

As a team, Oklahoma City has flirted with the backend of the playoffs all season long, but after Tuesday night’s win, the reality of the postseason is taking shape. The Thunder jumped both Dallas and Los Angeles, each by virtue of the tiebreaker. Mark Daigneault’s squad is now 34-35, a game off from a .500 record, and the No. 8 seed in a loaded Western conference.

With how close the West is, OKC remains just two games out of fifth place, behind Minnesota, the Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the biggest reason behind the Thunder’s season-long surprise, averaging 31.3 points per game on 50.9% shooting. The Oklahoma City star dropped 35 points and seven rebounds in the team’s biggest game of the season Tuesday.

The reason for the Thunder’s playoff push in particular, though, is the emergence of rookie Jalen Williams. Gilgeous-Alexander has been sitting out back-to-back’s to nurse an injury, and Williams has taken advantage. Tuesday night, when Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander shared the court again, the special potential and chemistry was on display. Williams’ 23 points and 10 rebounds on 8-of-10 shooting told the story of the game.

Now that Josh Giddey playing at a high level once again, recording his fourth triple double of the season against the Nets, it’s hard to ignore what OKC’s young trio is doing. It’s even harder to fathom that the same team lost its No. 2 draft pick, Chet Holmgren, to a season-long injury last summer. Nobody could’ve predicted this type of season for the injury-riddled youngest team in the NBA.

But with a bulk of the remaining schedule against teams also battling for a play-in berth, Oklahoma City can control its own destiny with a few big wins down the stretch. The Thunder’s young trio seems determined to bring playoff basketball back to the city.

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