OKC Thunder Need More Rebounding Help Next Season

The Thunder need some more threats to get on the glass.

Apr 8, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) reaches in front of Los Angeles Clippers center Brook Lopez (11) for a rebound in the first half at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City has some interesting decisions to make this offseason, and rebounding should be a priority.

The Thunder’s title defense came to an end in the Western Conference Finals after a Game 7 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. While there were many reasons the Thunder weren’t able to get past the Spurs, rebounding was one of the key issues.

Although the Spurs’ rebounding advantage wasn’t necessarily huge throughout the seven-game series, it was a key point in Game 7’s result, with the Spurs pulling down 15 offensive rebounds throughout. During this era of the Thunder, rebounding has been a bit of an issue at every turn.

Even with the addition of Isaiah Hartenstein, which helped Oklahoma City’s rebounding tremendously, the Thunder are still not elite in that area. The Thunder’s defensive rebounding rate of 74.4% places them just outside the top 10, but their 22.3% mark on the offensive glass puts them at third-worst in the league, ahead of only the Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks this season.

As far as the big men go, the Thunder are actually in a decent spot on the boards. Hartenstein averaged 9.4 rebounds, including 3.2 offensive, and Chet Holmgren averaged 8.9. 

That’s the impact that Hartenstein has brought since the Thunder signed him in the 2024 offseason. However, there’s still more to be desired from Oklahoma City on the glass outside of the big men.

Despite the Thunder being known for their defensive intensity and effort, their size can be a bit of a problem when it comes to battling on the glass. For example, the Thunder’s leading rebounder outside of the three big men was Jalen Williams, who averaged 4.6 boards. 

To put that in perspective, the Spurs had three non-big men average at least five rebounds this season (Julian Champagnie, Keldon Johnson and Stephon Castle). Meanwhile, several other playoff teams also have non-bigs playing huge roles on the glass, such as Josh Hart, Jaylen Brown and VJ Edgecombe. 

As the Thunder look to make adjustments this offseason, Sam Presti should take a serious look at adding some non-big men who can make a real impact on the glass. Of course, he’s no stranger to having a smaller guy having an impact on the glass after having Russell Westbrook around for over a decade. 

Oklahoma City has committed to going big, but finding some smaller guys who can do big-man things could be the key to getting the Thunder back into the Finals.