Looking Back at 2022-23 Thunder Ahead of Upcoming Season

The 2022-23 season was an entirely uphill battle for Oklahoma City. There weren’t many people expecting this team to excel above 30 wins.

Losing your incoming No. 2 pick to injury, paired with having players who accumulate an average age of that equal to many college rosters, it was an experiment.

Head coach Mark Daigneault and general manager Sam Presti seemingly got a great feel of the direction for their players and team last season despite these hindrances, testing lineups and roles night in and night out.

Even without considering the confidence boost of making a play-in game, it was a successful season in that it uncovered who will be the ones to absorb responsibility and respond to pressure. To name a couple, Jalen Williams stamped his name as a possible No. 2 option going forward in his first season. Isaiah Joe solidified himself as a reliable, 3-point adept role player. Rookie Jaylin Williams flashed both a legitimate backup center and stretch four skill set. Josh Giddey further proved his ability as a focal playmaker in the offense.

The team examined a number of different personnel combinations, but many players eventually found their fitting roles. They each got a feel for each other, picking up on playstyle habits and tendencies, growing as teammates.

The season was a win above all accounts, even in the midst of the setbacks that could’ve uprooted a team’s whole season. No one can say that it was expected, of course, but the methodical foresight and plan of action that Presti has continuously practiced throughout his tenure in OKC — and even more so throughout this rebuild — ensures you that his approach is effective.

This last season was a testament to Presti’s strategy — steadily and methodically, but no wasted time.

The prioritization of developing the team’s young players once again this season has just been another step forward. Naturally, there’s still so much more room for this developing team to improve.

As an inexperienced team, you’ll of course deal with mistakes on both sides of the ball. While they weren’t flawless, OKC was a disciplined defensive team last season, holding the 13th best defensive rating in the league with a 113.2.

Offensively, the Thunder stood at No. 5 in points per game averaging 117.5, and simultaneously ended up in the bottom six of turnovers committed in the league. They also shot 46.5% from the field throughout the season while shooting the second most amount of shots of any team.

Examining broadly, those are promising stats for such a young, up-and-coming team in a loaded Western Conference. But there was still some lingering discombobulation on offense at times, primarily an expense of insufficient spacing. There was also a noticeable lack of defensive rim presence and protection associated with lack of frontcourt depth, as OKC was dead last in second chance points given.

The good thing is, the team is addressing both of these issues heading into next season. With the aforementioned 2022 No. 2 pick in Chet Holmgren making his NBA debut and Jaylin Williams moving to the bench, the Thunder have some added frontcourt depth. In terms of spacing, the team has added two more 3-point shooters in rookie guards Cason Wallace and Vasilije Micic alongside Joe.

The groundwork and discipline is prevalent already, but the ultimate execution is what local and national NBA fans are eager to see.

The spotlight has been increasingly turned towards the Thunder’s way as of late, with national media shining light on them the team hasn’t seen since the trio of Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony.

As the league unveiled each team’s schedule this past Thursday, it was revealed OKC would play eight national games (ESPN or TNT) in 2023-24 — a step up from four in 2022-23.

They’ve gained some notice for their new additions of talent in parallel with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s All-NBA First Team season, let’s observe how they handle themselves in the beginning of a very important season for the franchise.

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