Oklahoma City Holding Onto Play-In Spot During All-Star Break

With the All-Star break here, the Thunder quietly moved up to No. 10 in the conference standings.

With a dominating 133-96 win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, Oklahoma City is heading into the All Star break occupying one of the Western conference play-in spots.

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At 28-29, OKC has surpassed its projected win total by five games already. The Thunder has been one of the biggest surprises in the NBA this far, as just a season ago, the team entered the All Star break at 18-40.

How the rankings currently stack up, Oklahoma City is slotted in at the No. 10 seed, with the Warriors 0.5 games ahead at an even 29-29. New Orleans slides in at No. 8, a half game behind the seven seed Dallas Mavericks. The Western conference has been a jumbled mess all season long, though, meaning the Thunder could still make another unexpected run. Sacramento currently holds the No. 3 seed at 32-25, but the Kings are just four games ahead of the Thunder.

There are multiple factors contributing to Oklahoma City’s rapid rise, like the massive jump in 3-point shooting, the addition of rookie Jalen Williams and chemistry building throughout the entire team. But the obvious reason is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who’s headed to Salt Lake City this weekend as the franchise’s fifth All Star.

Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 30.9 points, 5.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds per night over the course of 52 games this season. He’s shooting 50.8% from the floor and 91.3% from the free throw line, where he’s done plenty of damage. SGA has been unstoppable after taking the leap, and the attention he draws opens up the floor for Oklahoma City. He’s the driving force behind the Thunder’s surprising season.

Joining Gilgeous-Alexander in Salt Lake City, OKC’s Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams will play in the Rising Stars game. The final stretch of the season will be a fun one for the youngest team in the NBA.

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