After catching the rest of the league off guard last year, the Oklahoma City Thunder enter the 2023-24 season as a likely playoff contender.
A surprising 40-42 campaign last season helped put the Thunder on the map as they finished a win shy of a playoff berth. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s emergence to superstardom and the development of one of the brightest young cores help this case.
Buy Thunder TicketsThe Thunder are in the middle of their honeymoon stage. OKC overachieved last season but now enters this season with a certain level of expected success.
In preparation for the new season, a few NBA Wire editors wrote their record predictions for the Thunder. Let’s see where they have OKC finishing by the end of the regular season.
Clemente Almanza, Thunder Wire
Record: 45-37
The Thunder were one of the biggest surprises last season. After being penciled in as a lottery team, they finished a win shy of a playoff berth. SGA is one of the league’s best players and the natural progression of the rest of the young core leads me to believe a five-win improvement is reasonable.
Ky Carlin, Sixers Wire:
Record: 46-36
I love this team’s makeup. SGA is a legitimate star in this league. Josh Giddey is an all-around and versatile player. Jalen Williams is a solid perimeter scorer, and the addition of Chet Holmgren is going to change things for them upfront. They almost made the playoffs without Holmgren. His addition plus the continued development of the other youngsters should make the Thunder a playoff team.
Justin Quinn, Celtics Wire
Record: 43-39
I may not be quite as bullish on this team, but I am of the mind that last season was actually not all that much of a surprise given the growth I expected out of players like Josh Giddey, Jalen Williams and SGA. Even Poku is looking like a solid rotation option after some rough seasons in terms of efficiency from deep.
