In a recent episode of his self-titled podcast, renowned NBA analyst Bill Simmons made an interesting comparison about the modern-day Thunder. According to Simmons, this season’s OKC Thunder team gives him heavy vibes of the 2014 Warriors, who finished 6th in the West that year as part of their initial ascent into historic prosperity.
“I have OKC 4th in the West this year. They were 40-42 last year, a year younger, no center,” argued Bill. “Golden State, Curry era, 2012: 23 wins. 2013, 47. 2014, 51. 2015, 67… so this OKC team this year, 40 last year, 20 the year before. Last year: no Chet, SGA missed 14 games, and Jalen Williams only came on in the 2nd half of the year… SGA is 25 and a top 7 player in the NBA.”
With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, and Josh Giddey, the Thunder have an impressive collection of young stars in multiple positions… similar to how the Warriors were constructed in the early days of their run.
According to Simmons, this year’s Thunder team can also be compared to the OKC team from 2010. “KD was 21, Russ was 21, Harden was 20, Ibaka was 20… that team jumper from 23 wins in 2009 to 50 in 2010.” It’s uncommon for young NBA teams to suddenly become contenders in one summer, but it’s happened before and the Thunder have all the pieces to make it happen again.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Is The Next Great Superstar
While Shai may never reach the heights of Stephen Curry or Kevin Durant, his play last season exposed the world to what he is capable of. At just 24 years old, the Thunder star averaged a career-high 31.4 points per game on 51% shooting to go along with 5.5 assists and 4.8 rebounds. This season, he’s expected to be even better, and experts across the world consider him among the top 10 players in the game right now.
While Shai still falls behind Steph in terms of impact, talent, and overall star power, he is certainly good enough to lead a team on his own and if his young co-stars deliver on expectations, it could be all that it takes to make the Thunder a serious threat in the West.
Can The Thunder Build A Dynasty?
Since the departure of Kevin Durant in 2016, the Thunder have fallen on pretty tough times. In the span of seven years, they had to part ways with their longtime franchise hero (Rissell Westbrook) and spend several seasons at the bottom of the standings as they continued the rebuild. Their luck finally started to turn with the arrival of SGA a few years later, and they’ve slowly accumulated an impressive rotation around him.
According to Chet Holmgren, there is a belief that the young core can fill the shoes left by the previous regime. “Obviously, I believe in the players we have on this team, I believe in the coaching staff, I believe in the organization as a whole, so the answer is an obvious yes,” said Chet. “I think we can reach really high heights. At the end of the day, it’s going to come down to what the guys in the locker decide to come together and achieve.”
While some call it premature to compare the 2023 Thunder to the Golden State Warriors, this may be the closest thing we’ve seen to that sort of situation. After years of hoarding picks and developing talent, OKC finally has the pieces to make some noise, and every team in the league will be watching to see what happens next.
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