Oklahoma City Thunder
The 2021-22 Oklahoma City Thunder can be defined by finding another gem in the draft, Josh Giddey, tanking their asses off at the end of the season, and landing the #2 pick in the 2022 draft.
What did we learn?
SGA is still so damn good. And Josh Giddey is, too.
Between SGA and Giddey, the Thunder absolutely have a backcourt duo of the future to build around. And now they will get to add in the #2 pick in a top-heavy draft.
Giddey’s court vision into the future is almost as nice as his hair. He became the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double, a remarkable line of 17-14-13. Giddey had a few triple-doubles, four to be exact, and he had nine games of 10 or more assists. There was hardly a game that went by without Giddey making at least one play that wildly impressed. Most rookies would not even think about attempting his audacious passes.
While Giddey was the fun new Thunder toy, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander resumed his role as the Thunder’s do everything wizard. We had to continue to shout it from the mountain tops: SGA is so good that you can’t tank with him out there! After the All-Star break, SGA went on a scoring rampage: 32, 36, 37, 29, 33, 33, 33, 31, 32, 34 and 31 points all in a 13-game stretch that included an insane 4th-quarter takeover of the Nuggets in Denver where he outplayed the back-to-back MVP down the stretch.
SGA’s shooting numbers were actually down this season, but defenses would key all the way into him. And he still managed to average a career-high in points per game. Those step-back 3 daggers he continuously hit in that 26-point comeback against the Lakers were a dream.
Lu Dort’s moonshot 3s were still here, chucking over seven of them a night on a below average 33 percent. But his free throw shooting was a sparkling 84 percent. And the Dorture Chamber was hell for opponents once again. Between SGA’s scoring, Giddey’s playmaking and Dort’s defense, the Thunder have a rock-solid foundation.
Towards the end of the season, Sam Presti once again hit his favorite OPERATION TANK button, shutting everybody down: SGA, Giddey, Dort, Favors, Moose, Kenny Hustle and Ty Jerome. They even had to sit Tre Mann, cause Tre Mann can ball! (If he’s not already, Tre Mann needs to be on your radar. Mann rang up 30 points on the Knicks in MSG on Valentine’s Day, and he had four games of 20+ points in February.)
The Thunder still managed to win four of their last 10 games of the season, but they did hold on to the coveted 4th-worst record in the league, which landed them the #2 pick in the lottery.
KD, Harden and Westbrook are a cautionary tale of a young OKC big 3.
But just 10 years later after the controversial Harden to Houston trade, Sam Presti might already have another shot.
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Additional Notes
There was the worst loss in NBA history, 73 points (!!!), handed to the Thunder by the Grizzlies in Memphis. That was a nightmare. (Except for Sam Presti who probably slept better than ever.) We will always remind and point out that SGA, Giddey and Favors did not play that fateful night in Memphis.
The Thunder had the worst field-goal percentage in the entire NBA this season at an abysmal 43.0 percent, and OKC’s overall offensive efficiency was unsurprisingly also bottom of the barrel.
Per usual, the Thunder went deep in the well of the WHO HE!? segment: Olivier Sarr, Vit Krejci, Rob Edwards, Zavier Simpson, Melvin Frazier and Lindy Waters. And shout-out to one-game wonder Scotty Hopson!
The one good thing about Presti shutting everybody down? Aleksej Pokusevski returned to our lives. Pokumania lives on!
Moose still owes us money from when we had Bulls -1.5 on a random Monday night in January. (Fucken Moose!) We often joke about Moose, and we do still think Mike Muscala might be one of the least exciting players in the league — and yet, he played pretty well! Moose was usually the Thunder’s best outside shooter, and the advanced numbers love him.
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Did our preseason Over/Under prediction hit?
Despite how much we love SGA, the threat of the tank here is too severe. Under 22.5 wins.
Thunder 2021-22 Record: (24-58)
Nope. Down the stretch, there were two too many games against the Blazers, who tanked their asses off even harder than the Thunder.
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What’s Next?
The #2 pick in the 2022 draft. By all accounts, it will be one of Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith Jr. or Paolo Banchero. The Thunder also have the Clippers #12 pick in the lottery from the Paul George trade.
Lu Dort has a $1.9 million team option for next season, but the Thunder would run the risk of Dort becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer. Might want to go ahead and lock him down like he locks down the opponent’s best player on a nightly basis.
Figure out what to do with all that cap space. And maybe cash in on some of those future assets? Over the next seven years, the Thunder have an insane 19 first-round draft picks.
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Favorite Thunder Highlights of the 2021-22 Season:
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