NBA Odds: Oklahoma City Thunder Given 2% Chance to Make Playoffs

FiveThirtyEight projects that Oklahoma City will finish 14th in the Western Conference with a 2% chance to make the postseason.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are still amidst a rebuild and will likely be at the bottom of the standings in the 2022-23 season. Although the young talent is starting to come together, they’re still a few seasons from being a legitimate playoff team.

With the regular season set to kick off this week, FiveThirtyEight recently released their projection for all 30 NBA teams.

This projection has Oklahoma City finishing with a 24-58 record, which would match last season’s mark. This would have the Thunder as the second-worst team in the Western Conference, ahead of just the Houston Rockets. In the NBA as a whole, it would have them tied with the Orlando Magic with the third-worst record in the league, ahead of the Detroit Pistons.

These projections also have OKC with a mere 2% chance to make the playoffs. This is the second-lowest percentage in the West and fourth-lowest in the NBA.

After going 24-58 (.239) last season and 22-50 (.306) in the shortened season before, the Thunder officially have experienced back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since coming to Oklahoma City.

A third-straight is likely in order.

With that in mind, this should be the last season in which the Thunder are truly in the bottom tier of the league. With one more high lottery pick and the return of Chet Holmgren, next year could be a big one.

In fact, the 2023-24 season could be the one in which the Thunder break out and emerge as a solid young team. 

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