OKC Thunder: Revisiting 10 bold predictions from the 2022-23 preseason
Back in October, days before the NBA season tipped off, I made “10 bold predictions” for the 2022-23 Thunder season.
Some were airballs, others struck iron and a few were swishes.
Time to hold myself accountable and revisit those prophecies from six months ago.
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1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finishes top five in scoring
Off to a splendid start.
Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.4 points per game — fourth in the NBA behind Philadelphia's Joel Embiid (33.1), Dallas' Luka Doncic (32.4) and Portland's Damian Lillard (32.2).
SGA not only improved from 24.5 points per game last season to 31.4 this season, but his field goal percentage jumped from 45% to 51%.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished fifth on my MVP ballot, and he’s a lock to make first team All-NBA. In hindsight, I didn’t go bold enough with SGA.
The score: 1-for-1
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2. Josh Giddey trails only Nikola Jokic in triple-doubles
Giddey had a superb sophomore season, but this was a miss.
Giddey had four triple-doubles, tying Russell Westbrook of the Los Angeles Clippers for seventh-most in the league.
Denver’s Nikola Jokic had a league-leading 29 triple-doubles, Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis had 14 and Doncic had 10.
Giddey, still just 20 years old, has eight triple-doubles in his career. That’s tied for 72nd all time. Other players with eight triple-doubles? Lonzo Ball, John Wall, Mookie Blaylock, Vlade Divac and Mickey Johnson.
The score: 1-for-2
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3. Darius Bazley is the first Thunder player traded
Missed this one by two hours.
The Thunder made two trades on deadline day. The first, at least the first that was reported, was a trade that sent center Mike Muscala to the Celtics. Then came the Darius Bazley trade to the Suns.
In exchange for Bazley, the Thunder received Dario Saric and a second-round pick.
The score: 1-for-3
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4. Aaron Wiggins leads the Thunder in games played
Wiggins played in 70 games, which ranked fifth on the team behind Giddey (76), Jalen Williams (75), Lu Dort (74) and Isaiah Joe (73).
Gilgeous-Alexander was sixth with 68 games played, but his 2,416 minutes were a team-high. Giddey was second with 2,367 minutes.
The score: 1-for-4
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5. Eugene Omoruyi gets standard contract over Lindy Waters III
This one was admittedly in the weeds, but I’ll take any win I can get.
Omoruyi and Lindy Waters III were the Thunder’s two-way contract players to begin the season.
Omoruyi signed a standard NBA contract Feb. 10, followed by Waters on Feb. 27.
Despite the order of those signings, the Thunder valued Waters more than it did Omoruyi, who was released shortly after signing his standard deal.
The score: 2-for-5
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6. OKC finishes ahead of Portland
It doesn’t seem so bold now, but it was back in October.
Portland’s over/under win total in the preseason was 39.5. Oklahoma City’s was 23.5.
The Thunder (40-42) went way over. The Trail Blazers (33-49) went under, aided by their end-of-season tankery.
The score: 3-for-6
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7. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander plays 70-plus games
Just short, as Gilgeous-Alexander played in 68 games.
He would’ve reached the 70-game mark if not for a COVID absence late in the season.
Gilgeous-Alexander was limited to 35 and 56 games in the previous two seasons, so this was a good bounce back year in terms of availability.
The score: 3-for-7
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8. Aleksej Pokusevski leads the Thunder in total blocks
I should’ve gone with “Aleksej Pokusevski leads the Thunder in blocks per game.”
Pokusevski only played in 34 games due to a left leg fracture, but his 43 blocks were still second on the team behind Gilgeous-Alexander (which speaks to the Thunder’s lack of rim protection).
Picking Poku to lead the Thunder in total blocks next season might be even more bold. Chet Holmgren should be the runaway leader in that category.
The score: 3-for-8
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9. Thunder finishes last in 3-point percentage
I clearly underestimated Isaiah Joe and Jaylin Williams, the Fort Smith flamethrowers.
The Thunder shot 35.6% from 3-point range, which ranked 17th.
OKC shot a league-worst 32.3% from 3-point range last season, and I boldly, but wrongly, predicted them to finish last again.
The score: 3-for-9
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10. Tre Mann finishes as a top-five bench scorer
Oh, boy. Glad we saved my worst for last.
Mann finished as a top-five bench scorer for the Thunder, but I predicted he’d be a top-five bench scorer in the league.
Mann averaged just 7.7 points per game, down from the 10.4 he averaged as a rookie. He started the season with all kinds of hype and ended the season out of the rotation.
The score: 3-for-10 (Good in baseball, bad in basketball)
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder: Revisiting 10 bold predictions from 2022-23 preseason
