OKC Thunder Pushing Boundaries In Team-Building Strategy

Some of the most dominant dynasties in the history of the NBA were pioneers in changing the way the game is played. Most recently, the Golden State Warriors made the 3-point shot a focal point which has now become one of the most important pieces of the modern league.

While many franchises are followers that try to adapt to current styles of play, the Oklahoma City Thunder are one of the teams looking to push boundaries and change the way the NBA is played moving forward.

The Thunder have no interest in being average or trying to catch up with trends. It’s not about just making the playoffs or being a middle-tier team, it’s about becoming a consistent contender.

“When you when you listen to Sam [Presti] talk about team building and talk about where we’re at, we’re not interested in average,” said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault at the start of training camp. “And, you know, being conventional leads you to average. It puts you in the middle of the herd.”

While going against the norm can be risky, it’s something the Thunder staff is willing to do in order to reach the highest level of success.

“I think we’ve had a willingness from a strategic standpoint and a team building standpoint to chase excellence, and sometimes risk failure in the process,” Daigneault said. “I think developmentally with our players and with how we coach the team and things we do, I think, to align with that philosophy, we have to be willing to do things a little bit differently. We’re not afraid to do that in pursuit of excellence.”

One trend we’ve seen Oklahoma City follow in recent years is acquiring long, versatile players with a high IQ and the ability to handle the ball. The Thunder are truly building a roster full of players that are mostly tall for their position and can pull a rebound off the rim to push the break.

Furthermore, the Thunder have leaned towards acquiring players with a high level of skill rather than elite athleticism.

The talented trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey and Chet Holmgren are currently the core of this rebuilding roster, each of which bring incredible versatility.

Gilgeous-Alexander and Giddey are 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-9 respectively, making them two of the bigger guards in the entire league. Holmgren is the perfect modern center, being a 7-footer with spectacular defensive upside and the ability to space the floor and handle the ball.

Until Holmgren returns next season from a foot injury, the way Oklahoma City plays can look a bit unorthodox at times. The Thunder don’t have a true traditional center, leaving undersized players in the frontcourt rotation. Instead of opting for size in the paint this season, they’ve gone with skill.

Guys like Aleksej Pokusevski, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Kenrich Williams and Darius Bazley have been playing the majority of the time at what would historically be considered power forward and center positions.

With that in mind, Oklahoma City plays in a way that results in positions not mattering all that much. This exploratory style of positionless basketball has built a unique development track for the young players on the roster. This should mean the Thunder end up being a team full of playmakers that can play in any spot on the offensive end longer term.

“We experimented with a lot of things, we looked at a lot of things last year, and we’ll continue to do that, because it’s a competitive league,” Daigneault said before the season.

When thinking about the Thunder’s roster building strategy, it’s also important to note they want an extremely cohesive group with one common goal. They’re looking for guys that buy into the system as the rebuild continues and are quality people off the court.

“We Draft people first and players second,” Thunder GM Sam Presti once said.

While Oklahoma City’s rotation looks unorthodox now, there’s a good chance it pays off in down the road. In the meantime, the Thunder have committed to being exploratory and taking risks in hopes of achieving the ultimate goal one day, which is an NBA championship.

“If you just settle into the middle, then you’re just going to be in the middle, you know, and we’re not interested in that. So we’re aggressive in our pursuit of our goals, and if we fail and fall on our face sometimes, that’s the cost of doing business.”

Between now and the end of the rebuild, expect the Thunder’s roster building strategy to differ from many other teams around the league.