Could the OKC Thunder be a 50-Win Team?
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You'd have to travel back eight years to find the last time the Oklahoma City Thunder registered 50 wins.
The 2015-16 NBA season does seem like ages ago. Kevin Durant was the Thunder's leading scorer, Billy Donovan was still the coach and LeBron James finally won his first title with the Cleveland Cavaliers. That year, Oklahoma City was de-throned by the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals in a Game 7, and the Durant-led Thunder was no more.
The next four years, the Thunder fell short in the first round of the playoffs, and then the rebuild began. And as soon as Oklahoma City fell apart post-Durant and Westbrook, it was back on the rise. Now, 50 wins are in the question once again — according to Bleacher Report, at least.
"Restraint is no longer required when talking about the Oklahoma City Thunder," the site wrote in a league-wide record prediction. "No matter what executive vice president Sam Presti might say. This is not to say they're above concern, but ... attempts to rain on the Thunder's coming-out parade are futile.
"You don't spit out a top-five net rating through one quarter of the season by mistake."
Twenty-one games into the season, Oklahoma City sits as the Western Conference's No. 2 seed. It's won big-time games against teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns, and also taken care of business against weaker teams. No signs have been shown of a potential slow-down, either. And that's largely due to the second-youngest team's cast.
"Shai Gilgeous-Alexander remains a top-five MVP candidate — and he's not four or five," Bleacher Report continued. "Jalen Williams is closer to an every-level scorer than not. Holmgren's fit has been as seamless as it is powerful. Isaiah Joe is making things happen beyond the arc, inside the arc and on defense. Cason Wallace is going to crack an All-Rookie team. Aaron Wiggins is adrenaline in miniature. Kenrich Williams remains unbreakable connective tissue."
Lots of plusses for a team that finished with a win total in the 20s just two seasons ago. Bleacher Report predicted this season's Thunder to finish at 51-31 to mark the 16th time in franchise history. And while that'd be a big plus, the next step would then be to see how far Oklahoma City could last in the playoffs.
"There's no turning back now," Bleacher Report concluded. "Oklahoma City knows it. ... the Thunder haven't just arrived. It has unpacked, had the locks changed and fully settled into its new digs near the top of the West."
Fifty wins is certainly attainable. If Oklahoma City can hit the mark, less and less people are going to be surprised as it makes its way through the postseason. It has to get there first, but so far, there isn't any reason to believe it won't.
And right now, that's all the team needs to be proving.
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