The Oklahoma City Thunder are the best team in the NBA. There is no arguing that fact. At 20-1, the Thunder have the best record in the NBA, while currently riding a 12-game win streak. Oklahoma City has the best defense in the league by a large margin, but they score the fifth-most points per game, as well. The team gets it done on both ends of the floor, and it is hard to see them as anything but the favorites to repeat as Finals champions.
Youth is the strength of this team. The Thunder have just two players over the age of 27 on their roster, and the plethora of draft picks they own will only make them younger. Youth can be seen as a weakness, but the development in Oklahoma City has been some of the best in the NBA. Both Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren have been able to turn into superstars with the team.
SGA has made himself a household name by averaging 32.5 points per game. What is even more impressive is that he has not played in the fourth quarter in multiple games this season because of blowouts. However, he has given his teammates some high praise, including Holmgren.
“He just doesn’t fade physically. His moves are stronger throughout the game. Naturally, he’s going to walk into 15, 17 points a night. Then as he continues to get stronger, he will develop his low post and midpost game, kind of the way Dirk Nowitzki did,” SGA said, per ESPN’s Anthony Slater.
Comparing anyone to a Hall of Fame player is extremely high praise. For Gilgeous-Alexander to see his teammate in that same light speaks volumes about the type of player Holmgren is becoming.
Chet Holmgren Has Taken A Big Step Forward This Season
The comparison to Nowitzki is not something that is casually mentioned. The Gonzaga product has played his way into elite company on the court. But there is still some room for improvement in his game.
“But then there’s still a ceiling for him because he’s such a young player. He has only played [131] games in his career. So we view him as a guy that is developmental still. And it sounds weird to say that because usually that is associated with guys who haven’t accomplished what he has,” Head coach Mark Daigneault said of Holmgren.
The 7-foot-1 center is averaging 18.2 points per game on 55.7% shooting from the field. Both of those are on pace to be career-highs for him. It is Holmgren’s defense that makes him really stand out, though.
“The guy just changed the game. I mean he blocks five, but he alters another probably two or three. Then he deters a few more because they won’t even go in there. So all of a sudden you’re taking 10 quality shots away in the biggest game of the season,” Daigneault said of Holmgren’s game seven Finals performance last season.
Holmgren makes himself known in the paint, and he is constantly altering the way players have to shoot over him. Even if he is not racking up the blocks, his defense is still making a difference. This year, he is averaging just under 2.0 blocks per game, while holding opponents to a 43.0% field goal percentage.
Youth Is a Strength for the Thunder
The Thunder, as stated earlier, have just two players over the age of 27. Both of them are 31. They are not the youngest team in the NBA, but they do a lot with the youth they have on the court.
“I think everyone on the team is striving and chasing for more. The championship wasn’t the last check on their bucket list,” Holmgren said.
The strength the Thunder find in their younger players comes from them always wanting to improve. Winning the Finals is a fantastic accomplishment, but having a team full of players who want more is why Oklahoma City continues to dominate.
OKC is showing no signs of slowing down heading into December. Holmgren’s continued development makes the Thunder a very dangerous team.
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