Better than projected, here's where OKC Thunder ranks in 25 team stats through 25 games
The Thunder (11-14), through 25 games, is almost halfway to its preseason over/under wins total of 23.5.
Basketball Reference predicts the Thunder to finish 37-45. Analytics site FiveThirtyEight is less bullish, predicting the Thunder to go 30-52.
If you want to bet the Thunder’s over/under now, the new number on FanDuel is 31.5.
All of that to say the Thunder, fueled by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s superstar step, has been much better than anticipated.
It’s a good time to take the team’s temperature and see where the Thunder ranks in various categories compared to the other 29 NBA teams. For context, we’ll list the best and worst teams in all categories.
As you’ll see, the Thunder either ranks really high or really low in most of these categories. We skipped over some areas where the Thunder is league average.
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1. Offensive rating
Thunder rank: 20th (30th last season)
Best offensive rating: Celtics
Worst offensive rating: Hornets
The Thunder had the worst offense in the NBA in back-to-back seasons before this one. Twentieth might not sound all that great, but it’s a remarkable leap.
The Thunder is averaging 110.5 points per 100 possessions. Compare that to 2020-21 (102.8) and 2021-22 (103.8).
Scoring is up across the league, but the Thunder is averaging 116.4 points per game, way up from 103.7 last season.
The Celtics, scoring 119.9 points per 100 possessions, are on pace to be the best offensive team in NBA history.
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2. Defensive rating
Thunder rank: 17th (17th last season)
Best defensive rating: Cavaliers
Worst defensive rating: Spurs
Not all 17th-ranked defenses are created equal.
The Thunder was the No. 8 defense before the All-Star break last season. It plummeted to 28th after the break, when draft positioning was paramount, to settle in at No. 17.
The Thunder’s defense hasn’t been as stiff this season, but 17th is certainly respectable for the youngest team in the league.
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3. Pace
Thunder rank: 4th (12th last season)
Fastest pace: Timberwolves
Slowest pace: Cavaliers
The Thunder has sped things up, just as coach Mark Daigneault has demanded. Daigneault probably wouldn’t mind if OKC played even faster given the youth and multiple ball handlers on the floor at all times.
It’s strange to see the Timberwolves rank first for the second straight season, especially after adding Rudy Gobert.
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4. Number of clutch games
Thunder rank: 5th (19th last season)
Most clutch games: Mavericks, Heat, Jazz
Fewest clutch games: Spurs
Fifteen of OKC’s 25 games have been decided in clutch time — when the score is within five points in the last five minutes of a game.
That means 60% of the Thunder’s games have been decided in clutch time compared to 53% (38 of 72) last season. The Thunder is 7-8 in clutch games.
The Spurs have played the fewest games decided in the clutch, which speaks to their lack of competitiveness.
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5. 3-point percentage
Thunder rank: 20th (30th last season)
Best: Celtics
Worst: Lakers
The Thunder clanked its way to 29th and 30th in 3-point percentage the last two seasons. Twentieth isn’t looking so bad. But will it stick? The Thunder takes the 11th-most threes in the league.
Boston makes the most and shoots the second most. Seems as though the Celtics have figured this game out.
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6. Free-throw attempts per game
Thunder rank: 23rd (28th last season)
Most: Rockets
Fewest: Warriors
Surprised? Gilgeous-Alexander ranks fourth in the league in free-throw attempts per game (10.0). The Thunder as a team takes 22.3 free throws per game.
The takeaway? SGA’s teammates don’t get to the line very often.
7. Assist-to-turnover ratio
Thunder rank: 17th (28th last season)
Best: Suns
Worst: Rockets
The Thunder averages 1.68 assists to every one turnover. Kenrich Williams leads the team in assist-to-turnover ratio with 29 assists against eight turnovers.
SGA has 139 assists and 78 turnovers. Josh Giddey has a 119/71 ratio.
8. Steals per game
Thunder rank: 5th (14th last season)
Most: Raptors
Fewest: Clippers
Only the Raptors, Pelicans, Timberwolves and 76ers have more steals than the Thunder (8.2 per game). Gilgeous-Alexander (1.7) and Lu Dort (1.2) are averaging more than a steal per game.
9. Blocks per game
Thunder rank: 5th (16th last season)
Most: Nets
Fewest: Heat
The Thunder, without a traditional rim protector, is fifth in blocks. Injured rookie Chet Holmgren will likely step in and lead the Thunder in swats next season. Aleksej Pokusevski leads the Thunder with 32 blocks. SGA is second with 26.
10. Points in the paint
Thunder rank: 3rd (16th last season)
Most: Lakers
Fewest: Mavericks
The Thunder is averaging 56.2 paint points per game, trailing only the Lakers and Grizzlies. Of the Thunder’s 116.3 points per game, 48.2% of them have come in the paint.
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11. Points in the paint allowed
Thunder rank: 28th (18th last season)
Fewest: Heat
Most: Jazz
It’s a real give-and-take for the Thunder in the paint. While the Thunder is averaging 56.2 points per game in the paint, it’s allowing 54.6. The Thunder lacks a towering paint protector. It has one coming, though.
12. Rebounds per game
Thunder rank: 8th (6th last season)
Most: Grizzlies
Fewest: Mavericks
The Thunder ranks sixth in offensive rebounding and 18th in defensive rebounding. Giddey, the Thunder’s 6-foot-8 point guard, leads the team with 7.7 rebounds per game.
13. Points off turnovers
Thunder rank: 2nd (25th last season)
Most: Raptors
Fewest: Lakers
Daigneault said the Thunder’s defense isn’t built around creating turnovers, but it’s happening nonetheless. The Thunder is forcing 17.5 turnovers per game, which ranks No. 1 in the NBA. The Thunder averages 20.6 points per game off turnovers, second-most behind the Raptors.
14. Points off turnovers allowed
Thunder rank: 1st (16th last season)
Fewest: Thunder
Most: Rockets
The Thunder is second in creating points off turnovers and first in limiting points off turnovers. That’s a winning combination. OKC is allowing just 15.3 points per game off turnovers, which means it’s winning the turnover battle by 5.3 points per game.
15. Second-chance points allowed
Thunder rank: 29th (24th last season)
Fewest: Bulls
Most: Hornets
The Thunder allows 16 second-chance points per game, which is a problem two years running. There’s an easy explanation. The Thunder allows a league-high 12.6 offensive rebounds per game.
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16. Percent of field goals created by an assist
Thunder rank: 27th (25th last season)
Fewest: Magic
Most: Warriors
This one is pretty fascinating.
Only 43.3% of the Thunder’s 2-point field goals have been assisted. That’s a league low. For context, a whopping 62.1% of the Warriors’ 2-pointers have been assisted.
The Thunder’s number is low, but it’s not surprising. It just speaks to Gilgeous-Alexander’s individual creativity.
But here’s why this category is so interesting. While OKC ranks last in assisted 2-pointers, it ranks fourth in assisted 3-pointers.
Guys like Gilgeous-Alexander, Tre Mann and Dort sometimes shoot threes off the dribble, but 89.7% of the Thunder’s 3-pointers are made from an assist.
Overall, 55.7% of the Thunder’s baskets have been assisted. Only the Hawks, Rockets and Magic have a higher percentage of unassisted buckets.
17. Post-ups per game
Thunder rank: 30th (30th last season)
Fewest: Thunder
Most: Bucks
Who posts-up these days? Certainly not the Thunder. According to NBA tracking data, the Thunder averages 1.8 post-ups per game. 1.8!
Obviously that’s not how the Thunder wants to play. The Bucks, Nuggets and Pelicans lead the league in post-ups. That’s because they have Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and Zion Williamson.
18. Drives per game
Thunder rank: 1st (1st last season)
Most: Thunder
Fewest: Warriors
Now this is the Thunder’s bread and butter. Rostering Gilgeous-Alexander, who leads all players in drives, is a solid formula for leading all teams in drives per game.
The Thunder led the NBA last season with 61.7 drives per game. No big deal. This Thunder team is averaging 67.1 drives per game — 10.1 drives per game more than the Knicks, which are second.
And how about this: OKC drives the ball 30 times per game more than Golden State.
19. Average seconds per touch
Thunder rank: 23rd (27th last season)
Most: Mavericks
Fewest: Warriors
Nothing shows the contrast in offensive styles quite like this stat.
Dallas, where everything runs through Luka Doncic, averages 3.45 seconds per touch.
Golden State, with its free flowing and improvisational attack, holds the ball for 2.68 seconds per touch.
The Thunder is building a roster of players that can make snappy decisions with the ball. OKC’s rank reflects that even with SGA holding the ball for 5.5 seconds per touch (and mostly for good reason).
Doncic averages 6.5 seconds per touch.
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20. Wide open 3-point attempts
Thunder rank: 1st (1st last season)
Most: Thunder
Fewest: Hornets
Defenses collapse on Gilgeous-Alexander in the paint, daring his teammates to beat them.
When SGA kicks out to a shooter who’s behind the arc, they’re often wide open. The Thunder is shooting 36.9% on wide open threes — a little worse than league average.
The NBA defines a “wide open” shot as one when the nearest defender is six or more feet away. The Thunder leads the league with 23.8 wide-open 3-point attempts per game.
That bodes well for the Thunder once it adds more 3-point shooting. If defenses get stretched to the perimeter, Gilgeous-Alexander will feast. And if defenses continue to pack the paint against SGA, he’s going to have better shooters to dish to.
21. Restricted area field-goal percentage
Thunder rank: 29th (29th last season)
Best: Kings
Worst: 76ers
The Thunder is shooting 62.4% in the restricted area. The league-leading Kings are shooting 70.8%.
Gilgeous-Alexander is shooting 68% from zero to three feet, so he’s not the problem.
Dort and Darius Bazley, however, are shooting 56% and 50% from zero to three feet on a high volume of attempts. Those numbers are dragging down the Thunder.
22. Personal fouls per game
Thunder rank: 24th (27th last season)
Fewest: Lakers
Most: Pistons
Fouls and forced turnovers often correspond. Teams that are physical, and sometimes a little too handsy, pick up fouls but also create takeaways.
Being physical without fouling isn’t so simple.
The Thunder fouls a lot and turns teams over a lot.
23. Charges drawn
Thunder rank: 1st (25th last season)
Most: Thunder
Fewest: Bucks
The Thunder has drawn 30 charges. The Bucks have drawn two.
Kenrich Williams leads the Thunder and ranks third in the NBA with 10 drawn charges. Kevin Love leads the league with 13.
24. Handoffs
Thunder rank: 27th (28th last season)
Most: Kings
Fewest: Mavericks
Daigneault said the Thunder wants to be a team that “runs the ball,” yet OKC ranks 27th in handoffs. Go figure.
Forgive the football joke. We’re nearing the end.
25. Loose balls recovered per game
Thunder rank: tied 1st (14th last season)
Most: Thunder, Pacers
Fewest: Timberwolves
The Thunder plays hard.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Where OKC Thunder ranks in 25 NBA team stats through 25 games
