The Oklahoma City Thunder are heading to the NBA Playoffs as the top seed in the NBA after a historic season. All eyes turn to the postseason starting with this week’s NBA Play-In Tournament.
That run of games will determine the Thunder’s first-round matchup as they begin their championship chase on Sunday.
In the modern NBA, people are quick to cast aside the regular season as meaningless. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. There are too many tested methods or thresholds that you have to hit to be crowned a true contender. Oklahoma City did the work to hit all of them.
Not only did Oklahoma City win 40 games before 20 losses, but they went on to not even lose 20 games with a 68-14 record. The Thunder are one of seven teams to win 68-plus games, five of the six teams before OKC became the seventh went on to at least make the NBA Finals, with four of them hoisting a Larry O’Brein trophy.
The Thunder has the best point differential in NBA history and passed the 1972 Los Angeles Lakers for the most double-digit wins in a single season. Those ’72 Lakers? They won the NBA Championship.
Oklahoma City has the best record against the opposite conference by two games, went 24-9 against top ten teams, 20-4 against middle ten teams and 27-1 against the bottom ten. The Thunder swept the regular season series against 21 opponents, the most in NBA history.
The Thunder have the deepest roster in the NBA that they have spent time developing and curating for the postseason and are led by a superstar that took home the scoring title and should bag the MVP award. That’s always been the formula for a title.
Mark Daigneault explored his roster and possible lineups to feel comfortable to mix-and-match his rotation to a game or series need and tinker with the adjustments required during a playoff run.
Oklahoma City fixed its issues from a year ago by adding to its frontcourt depth and swapping Josh Giddey for Alex Caruso. Its playoff rotation doesn’t include the holes last year’s run did, goals accomplished dating back to the summer.
The Thunder own the third best offensive rating, best defensive rating and own a distant lead in Net Rating, turning in a jaw-dropping 12.7 in that column.
There is an old saying in Lawton, America, where this scribe grew up: “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.”
The Bricktown Ballers, like every other NBA Champion, will need a few breaks to go their way. They will need to get lucky, if you will, but they have prepared themselves to be equipped for the moment and earn Lady Luck on OKC’s side.
While the Thunder will be a popular pick to make the NBA Finals, some bold enough to pick OKC to finish the season with Blue and Orange confetti falling, that is not promised. Anything can happen. Sometimes the favorites roll, at times there are upsets and often the results are in between. That is why you watch, it is edge-of-your-seat theatre.
No matter how the season ends, it doesn’t change the fact that the Oklahoma City Thunder prepared the best they could during the regular season to put themselves in championship contention. Many other teams did not. That shouldn’t be taken for granted.
Song of the Day: Strawberry Fields Forever by the Beatles
