How OKC Has Been So Effective On The Defensive End

To perform at the highest level in the NBA, teams must be effective on both ends of the floor. While having a great offense can result in a high number of wins, to really be a top-tier team history tells us that a solid defense is also needed.

At 11-4 to this point in the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder has been great on both ends. Boasting the best net rating in the entire NBA, Oklahoma City has the seventh best offense and the fifth best defense.

What’s been most impressive about the Thunder is the consistency on the defensive end. This has proven to be important as the team has won six of its seven games on the road in the 2023-24 campaign. It’s well known that defense travels while offense is more difficult to sustain on the road. You can lean on one of the floor much more than the other over the course of a season.

The effective defense has been driven by a number of factors. Oklahoma City plays with some fairly unorthodox lineups, especially as it relates to playing small. Even when Chet Holmgren is on the floor protecting the paint as a 7-footer, it’s not uncommon for lineups around him to be comprised of four guards. What this allows OKC to do is play fluid and switchable on the defensive side of the floor. For long stretches of games, all five players on the floor spend time guarding all five positions situationally.

Speaking of Holmgren, he’s been one of the best defenders in the entire league this season. In fact, he has statically been a top-five individual defender in the league thus far. Despite being a rookie, he’s fourth in the NBA in blocks per game (2.2) and makes his presence felt even when he’s not actually blocking shots. He’s altered a tremendous number of shots, leading to opposing teams shooting a lower percent than expected in the paint. Furthermore, teams have to fundamentally change the way they run offense at times when Holmgren is on the floor. There’s been numerous times in which an opposing player will drive to put pressure on the rim but ultimately have to change course and kick the ball out or dribble out due to the 7-footer’s presence. He can also defend in space well out to the perimeter.

In the backcourt, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort have been phenomenal defensively. For years now, Dort has been established as one of the premier wing defenders in the entire league. Nearly every night for the past few seasons, he’s been primarily tasked with slowing down the opposing team’s best scorer. What’s more of a recent development is the play of Gilgeous-Alexander on that end. Last season he took a step forward and showed flashes of being a really solid defender. This season, he’s been one of the best defensive guards in the entire NBA consistently. In fact, he’s generating 2.4 steals per game, which leads the league.

These three players, along with the collective pieces around them, have really put together a strong team defense this season.

Oklahoma City is top 10 in the NBA in deflections per game (15.9) and force the seventh most turnovers at 15.9 per contest. The Thunder also is one of the top teams in the league at drawing charges and overall offensive fouls, which has only gotten better over the past few games. This is also a defense that is fourth in defensive loose balls recovered per game (3.4) which speaks to the effort and buy-in.

Being a good defensive team goes beyond just being disruptive. Forcing turnovers in a variety of ways is great, but it takes truly forcing the opposing team to feel uncomfortable and not allowing them to get into a rhythm.

What’s interesting about the Thunder’s defense is that it allows opposing teams to take 91.9 field goal attempts per game, which is fifth most of any team this season. With that in mind, opponents have shot just 43.2% from the floor against OKC which is the second worst in the NBA to this point.

This is driven primary by contesting shots, forcing tough looks and manipulating the types of shots opponents take. Defense can be a numbers game, with even the slightest impact on efficiency making a tremendous difference.

Oklahoma City currently leads the league in contested shots per game (53.9), ensuring a limited number of good, open looks by its opponents. These contested shots are well distributed all over the court, which is unique for a young team like this. It’s not simply paint shots or triples that the Thunder is good at contesting, this defense contests shots well from all over the floor.

This has resulted in teams shooting low percentages from everywhere on the court. Oklahoma City’s opponents are eighth worst in efficiency within five feet of the basket. They’re also bottom five in shooting percentage between five and 19 feet in the midrange. Teams also hoist a high volume of 3-pointers against OKC at 37.7 per game (fifth most in NBA), but shoot fifth worst in terms of efficiency at 34.1% from deep. Even defending on the break, Oklahoma City allows the third fewest transition points in the league.

As good as the Thunder’s defense has been this season, there’s still room for improvement. Rebounding has been a huge struggle for Oklahoma City this season, as it has been one of the worse in the league on the glass. This has resulted in the Thunder allowing 17.5 second chance points per game this season, which is the second most in the league. If that can be cleaned up, this is a defense that has the ability to finish top five in the NBA.

Regardless, what coach Mark Daigneault has been able to install on the defensive end of the floor this season has been impressive and a huge reason the Thunder has gotten off to such a good start.