(Most) fans know the Oklahoma City Thunder are tanking, but that doesn’t remove all the pain from seeing their spot in the latest NBA power rankings from the Rookie Wire.
The Thunder, 1-6, are at the bottom of the league.
The rankings were published before the team’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, but even that competitive game likely would not have changed their spot. Analyst Cody Taylor wrote:
“The Thunder picked up an impressive win over the Los Angeles Lakers last week, overcoming a 26-point deficit in the process, which equaled the largest in team history. They played the Golden State Warriors tough one game and then lost to them later in the week. Josh Giddey has been fun to watch, though.”
Taylor and the Rookie Wire have been fans of Giddey so far in this young season, ranking him sixth in the weekly rookie rankings.
That was the only positive written about the Thunder, who were ranked one spot below the similarly tanking Orlando Magic, two behind the Houston Rockets and three below the Zion Williamson-less New Orleans Pelicans.
Oklahoma City’s next game is scheduled for Thursday against the Los Angeles Lakers at 9:30 Central Time. The first game between the two, which took place on Oct. 27, remains the Thunder’s only win of the season so far.