Thunder Have Clear Need for Frontcourt Help Headed into Offseason

The Thunder blew past expectations this season, but the team's frontcourt issues still need to be addressed.

The off-season is a time for all 30 NBA teams to reflect on their respective successes or failures and take inventory of what changes might need to be made to improve the roster going forward.

For the Oklahoma City Thunder, who just wrapped up a year that saw them blow past expectations and come within just one game of a playoff berth, there is one area of concern on the roster that stands out above all else: the front-court. Although the Thunder seem to be on a positive trajectory after benefitting from stellar perimeter play, it was clear the team struggled to consistently get stops, rebound, and generate good shots.

The absence of a true rim protector is what hurt the Thunder the most as it made life a little too easy for opposing offenses. With no one on to play underneath the basket and match up against the NBA’s more skillful and physical bigs, Oklahoma City relied heavily on help defense from their perimeter defenders.

The recipe for attacking the Thunder was simple for the opposition: wait for the defense to over-help, and kick it to an open shooter. That led to the Thunder giving up 10.2 corner 3-pointers per game, the second-worst mark in the league.

Secondly, when jumpers weren’t falling for the Thunder, they didn’t have a successful pick-and-roll game they could fall-back on. While ball-handlers did find some success, scoring 0.91 points per possession — about league average — behind the sheer scoring power of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City finished with the fourth-worst efficiency in “roll man” plays with just 1.07 points per possession, according to NBA Advanced Stats.

The Thunder’s front-court is about to get a shot in the arm, though.

Chet Holmgren, the second overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, is slated to make his debut at some point next year. After suffering a Lisfranc injury prior to the start of training camp last year, the seven-foot shot-blocking extraordinaire underwent surgery to repair his right foot. Now, all signs are pointing towards a healthy return for 2023-24.

Chet Holmgren on where he is physically pic.twitter.com/8g9Pao9FHT

— Joe Mussatto (@joe_mussatto) April 15, 2023

But it would be wise for the Thunder to not put all of their eggs in one basket.

While things are looking up with the likely addition of Holmgren next season, anything could happen such as an unfortunate setback or even another injury. And beyond Holmgren, the roster doesn’t present any clear solutions to the team's front-court issues. However, the Thunder will have a chance to address that this off-season either via trade, free agency, or the 2023 NBA Draft.

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