OKC Thunder Grinding Out Games Is Good Long-Term

A year ago, close games in Bricktown were hard to come by. The Oklahoma City Thunder raced out to a 68-14 record –– the best in the NBA and franchise history –– with the best point differential of all time (12.87 per game) and just one overtime tilt on their resume (0-1) before ultimately capturing their first NBA championship. In the regular season, the Thunder played in just 66 clutch-time minutes, the fewest in the league.

This season, the Thunder have already played in two double-overtime games, with a point differential of +7.7 per game. Oklahoma City has played in a league-high 35 total clutch-time minutes. A stark contrast from what happened a season ago, but the same result of a perfect 5-0 start.

"The biggest thing is just exposing the guys to the different situations and encouraging some critical thinking in different ways, whether that's in practice or in film, because ultimately, you can't micromanage. There's no time, there's not enough timeouts to just make every decision. So it's about preparing the team to think on the fly and recognize the patterns and recognize situations," Head Coach Mark Daigneault explained following Tuesday's win over the Kings. "I just think the persistence of the team - we're building different muscles at different times. There's certainly habits that we need to improve on. But the persistence, I thought was on display again tonight."

En route to the team's first ever NBA championship, the Oklahoma City Thunder dropped a pair of mind-boggling Game 1s in the second round of the playoffs vs. the Denver Nuggets and to open the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers.

This put the Thunder in a hole they spent the entire series climbing out of before eventually winning the best of seven set in a deciding Game 7. Many theorized their lack of being pushed in the regular season played a part in that.

"We fought through it really well as a group and as individuals, and just kept the game close enough. And then when it was winning time, we did what it took to win. You saw guys crash the offensive glass, make big shots, big rebounds," Superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said on Tuesday. "There's a bunch of things that help you win. [Mark Daigneault] does a really good job of focusing on a few of them at a time, and keeping it really simple for us. Then over time it builds, and we have multiple skills to go out there and win games. Late game execution is one of them. We go over it a lot."

Gilgeous-Alexander hits the nail on the head. This team has had to go through plenty of adversity in the early season. Not only missing All-NBA swingman Jalen Williams for all five games, but seeing defensive-ace Alex Caruso miss three contests with Rising star Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace missing a game each in the first five.

While not playing a single game with their best lineups, they have still be able to hang around in each of these contests until Gilgeous-Alexander is able to return and close them out. A credit to the Thunder being the deepest and most talented squad in the NBA.

Now, not only have they gained championship experience, they are being tested in situations that will undoubtably pop up in come playoff time as the Oklahoma City Thunder attempt to curb the current trend of parity in the NBA and defend their title.