The Oklahoma City Thunder made a big jump in the standings last season, and the team believes it can build upon that success on the court.
The Thunder posted a 16-win improvement and qualified for the play-in tournament in the Western Conference. Led by first-time All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the team received tremendous play from Josh Giddey, Jalen Williams, Lu Dort and others.
The group was kept mostly the same but will have Chet Holmgren after the former second pick missed all of last season with a foot injury. The Thunder also drafted Cason Wallace (10th pick) and Keyontae Johnson (50th pick), and signed former EuroLeague MVP Vasilije Micic.
With continued growth and development, the Thunder seem poised to top their 40-42 record from a season ago. Holmgren, speaking to Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on the “All the Smoke” podcast, believes the Thunder have a deep team.
We just got so much talent on our team. It’s going to be like a new guy every single game. The ball is gonna bounce this dude’s way this game; this dude’s gonna hit shots this game. We got dudes who didn’t get the most opportunity last year or just got with the team or whatever that when you watch them some games, you’re just gonna see that this dude can hoop. From Cason to (Ousmane Dieng) to Tre (Mann) — all the way down the roster. We got dudes.
Holmgren is fresh off a strong showing in summer league, averaging 16.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.5 blocks, two assists and one steal in four games between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. He finished his stay in the desert with 25 points, nine rebounds and five blocks on July 12.
The organization, led by Sam Presti, appears to have another promising core of players. The future appears to be bright in OKC and has Holmgren and the rest of the team excited about their potential.
“I’m excited just because our management does a great job of putting great guys in the locker room, as well as on the staff,” Holmgren said. “We’re also so young, everybody has room to grow. … It’s just going to be on us to get in the lab together and build that chemistry and figure out how to put the pieces together because we have a lot of talent.”
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