OKC Thunder Showing Improvement During 2022-23 Campaign

As a new calendar year approaches, the Oklahoma City Thunder have gotten off to a solid start to the 2022-23 season. It’s easy to see just how good this team could be one day, but it’s equally as clear that the Thunder aren’t ready to be a playoff contender quite yet.

With that in mind, they’re much improved from this time last year. With a combination of internal development and rookie contributors, Oklahoma City has taken a huge step forward this season in the rebuild.

In fact, the Thunder are on pace to win roughly 35 games in the 2022-23 campaign. This would be 11 more victories than last season and the most since the 2019-20 season.

Oklahoma City is 14-19 (.424) at this point in the season, which is materially better than the 11-20 (.355) record the team had this time last year.

What’s been the difference? There’s quite a few tangible parts of the game that the Thunder have improved to achieve a new level of success this season.

For starters, the net rating is significantly better. This metric encompasses everything that happens on the floor and can often times be an indicative singular metric of how good a team is outside of their record.

This time last season, Oklahoma City had the third-worst net rating (-8.0) of any team in the league. Now, the Thunder have a net rating of just -1.5 this season. They’ve clearly moved another tier up in the league’s hierarchy, being much more competitive and rising above the true bottom teams in the NBA.

When breaking down production on both ends of the court, it’s been an improved offense that’s sparked the team in being more competitive. Oklahoma City is scoring nearly ten more points per 100 possessions this season after being the league’s worst offense at this point last season.

Furthermore, the Thunder were the worst 3-point shooting team at the end of 2022 at 30.7% from deep, but now are closer to the middle of the pack while knocking down 34.4% of their attempts this season. The same goes for their assists numbers, which have gone from worst in the NBA to 19th this season following an uplift of nearly four per game.

On the flip side, the Thunder have a declining defensive rating season-over-season, but are actually better when stacked up against the rest of the league. This time last season, Oklahoma City had the 14th best defensive rating (108.7) but are now tenth in the league at 111.9 this season.

While the overall team has been better this season, it comes down to the individuals on the roster to drive that improvement.

It starts with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is the clear frontrunner to win the NBA’s Most Improved Player award this season. He’s playing at an MVP level and has emerged into a lethal scorer, producing more than 30 points per game on average.

Another returning player that has made a significant leap is Aleksej Pokusevski, who has earned a consistent starting role this season as a 7-footer that can do it all. He’s just scratching the surface of his potential, but is clearly part of the long-term core. He went from a project to a massive contributor on both ends this season.

From there, rookie Jalen Williams has been a spectacular piece of the Thunder’s rotation this season. He provides tremendous versatility on offense and defense with the ability to play four positions at a high level.

Isaiah Joe is another huge reason Oklahoma City has taken a step forward, after he was acquired before the start of the season. He’s been one of the best 3-point shooters in the NBA and provides space for his teammates on the floor. He’s been a driver of the increased offensive efficiency of the Thunder year-over-year.

Overall, Oklahoma City is just quite a bit more well-rounded this season. The roster is comprised of 15 players that can legitimately come in and contribute on any given night. Top to bottom, the Thunder are better this season relative to last, which has resulted in the step forward.