Where Does Oklahoma City’s Roster Stack Up in Fantasy Basketball?

For Thunder fans, it still feels like the season just ended. For NBA fans collectively, though, the season ended a long time ago and the itch for basketball is back. That’s what happens when you’re playing in June, though, and it’s a feeling Thunder fans hadn’t had in quite some time. Even Oklahoma City fans are ready for a new season to start, though, and the quest of going back-to-back to commence.

With any sport, the excitement for fans is always found in following along from home — and one of the best ways to do that is by playing Fantasy Hoops. Fantasy Football will always be king, but Fantasy Basketball has picked up plenty of steam over the last few years.

For a while, Oklahoma City served as the perfect plug-and-play team for fantasy managers. The Thunder had so many different lineups and so many different injuries during the years where the losses were piling up. On any given night, someone off the bench could put up a crazy statline and award fantasy owners for doing their homework. The Thunder didn’t win many games, but someone always has to score points in the NBA.

After winning a championship, though, Oklahoma City is a household name on the court and in Fantasy Basketball now. The days of the Thunder being nothing more than a team full of waiver wire additions are long gone. Now, the Thunder’s star power is showing in true form.

As ESPN gears up for another season of Fantasy Basketball on its platform, they released a set of initial rankings for head-to-head play. Oklahoma City was well represented.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the No. 2 overall player and the top point guard — as he will almost certainly go in the top three of every fantasy draft across the globe. He trails only Nikola Jokic, and that choice is understandable. For fantasy basketball, it’s hard to find a better stat sheet stuffer than someone like Jokic — he’s a triple double machine and fantasy basketball heavily accounts for a variety of stats, not just points. Gilgeous-Alexander should be a comfortable No. 2, though, and his defensive stats present high upside.

Jalen Williams appeared at No. 16 overall on the list, firmly inside the Top 20 rated fantasy basketball players in the NBA. His two-way prowess will make owners very happy this upcoming season, and his consistent scoring should make for a reliable option every night. Williams might take another leap, too, as he has every season in the NBA so far.

The Thunder’s wildcard option here is clearly Chet Holmgren, who checked in at No. 47. Fantasy basketball favors stats like blocked shots, and Holmgren gets so many of those. He’s likely lower on the list because of the injury risk, but his ceiling is incredibly high. He has flirted with being a double-double player in the stat sheet while still delivering multiple blocks per game. If he can stay healthy, that’s a recipe for success in fantasy hoops.

As for the rest of the team, Isaiah Hartenstein was rated No. 96 and Aaron Wiggins checked in at No. 137 to round out ESPN’s Top 150 fantasy rankings. A case could be made for Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, and Alex Caruso all on the outside looking in. On a night where he gets to run the show, Nikola Topic could be a rock solid plug and play option too.