The Oklahoma City Thunder exceeded all expectations in the 2023-24 campaign, ultimately winning 57 games and earning the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. While Oklahoma City had tremendous talent with the clear ability to make the playoffs, last season’s expectations were blown out of the water.
But even then, the playoffs felt like a disappointment. The Thunder fell in the second round, as the team’s inexperience proved too much to overcome. It was the first playoff action for both Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, and for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, it was his first time leading a team as the top option in that setting.
This season feels different, though. Oklahoma City addressed most of its playoff weaknesses from last May. Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso bring playoff experience, two-way impact, veteran presence and the ability to slot into any role the team needs on a given night. The Thunder is much better than last season, which has been proven true by its current 45-10 record.
At NBA All-Star Weekend in San Fransisco, Gilgeous-Alexander was, of course, asked about expectations this season, how he thinks the team could fare in the playoffs, and ultimately, what he thinks the ceiling of this Thunder team could be.
“We have obviously a pretty good basketball team. We have a little bit more experience. We have an opportunity to, for sure, win an NBA championship,” the Thunder superstar said. “Now we’re going to have to earn it, just like the team that’s going to win it this year and the teams that’s won it in the past. You go in the playoffs and you need to be the best team for a couple months, and you’re not that unless you earn it throughout the season and throughout the playoffs.”
Unfortunately for the Thunder, the Western Conference is again loaded this season. While the Eastern Conference has a pair of juggernauts with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics at the top, the West is much more complete and brings tremendous depth. Nearly a dozen teams still have a legitimate shot to make the playoffs. The individual talent is much more impressive in the Western Conference, too.
“The Western Conference has always been tough and will always be tough,” Gilgeous-Alexander said before All-Star practice in Oakland. “Challenges all through the conference, it feels like, from 2 through 11. The teams are good. It’s the best league in the world, best players in the world, and there’s never a night off in the West so we know that. The challenges are all over the conference.”
Winning is everything to Gilgeous-Alexander, as it should be. He’s the frontrunner to win the league’s MVP award this season, but that’s just a milestone along the way in pursuit of a bigger prize. Leading his team to a championship is Gilgeous-Alexander’s primary objective, especially as he looks to cement himself as one of the all-time greats before his career is done.
“You play the game to win, and that’s, at the end of the day, all that really matters. If you don’t win, or in my mind if you don’t win, you lost and if you lost, you failed. Now you learn through those failures and losses, but ultimately, I wake up in the morning to win, and if I don’t succeed in that in my career, I will have never accomplished what I wanted to.”
With 27 games remaining, Oklahoma City has complete control of the Western Conference standings and will presumably be the No. 1 seed entering the playoffs yet again. But this time around, the Thunder has true championship aspirations, meaning anything less than holding up a trophy in June will be less than what the team wants. It’s all about staying healthy and building chemistry between now and the end of the regular season.
“We’re more than halfway through the season, but it’s a long road and we’ve just got to keep getting better through the road and hopefully where we want to be at the end of it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said at NBA All-Star Weekend.
Oklahoma City will have a real chance at winning a title this season, but also for the next several. This is a team built for both now and the future, with Gilgeous-Alexander being the face of the franchise.
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