The OKC Thunder are not your average tanking team

Though worse off than they were a year ago, the OKC Thunder remain constructed in a way that hardly makes them likely to roll over.

There were legitimate reasons to expect a drop off for the OKC Thunder heading into the 2020-21 season. A playoff appearance last season was an unexpected triumph for a team many expected to drop off a cliff following the trade of Russell Westbrook. Yet even after coming within a game of the second round, a hoard of draft capital and young talent in need of playing time kept OKC’s eyes towards the future, where they also had the chance to extract maximum value from those who didn’t factor into those plans.

Out the door went three starters and a top-two Sixth Man of the Year candidate. Billy Donovan, who never missed the playoffs in his five seasons at the helm, was replaced by Mark Daigneault, no stranger to player development as coach of the G League Oklahoma City Blue since 2014.

In a cramped Western Conference trying to make room for a plethora of worthy playoff participants, the Thunder’s youth movement seemed to make them the odd team out. But that’s not the story they’re adhering to through nine games of the season.

After a double-digit comeback manufactured a 129-116 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, OKC is 5-4, good for eighth out west. They took four of five on an east-coast trip following a slow 1-3 start.

The Thunder have the second-worst offense in the league, not exactly an expected mark for a team with as many wins as title-hopefuls like Brooklyn and Denver. They thrived last season on the strength of multiple players who could create their own shot. Only Shai Gilgeious-Alexander currently falls into that category.

Asking one of the younger cores in the league to execute complex sets or to understand the nuances needed for pick-and-roll success isn’t realistic. But every player knows how to put their head down and take it to the basket.

OKC drives the ball at a top-five mark, having the unrefined games of guys like Luguentz Dort, Hamidou Diallo and Darius Bazley get downhill to allow their natural abilities to compensate for the absence of tangible skill.

Only Sacramento generates more free-throw attempts off those drives. Though the Thunder are a bottom-five team in free-throw efficiency, the more chances they get affords better odds at keeping pace with opponents, almost all of whom are better at that end.

At the center of these frequent attacks — and truthfully everything OKC does — is Gilgeous-Alexander, who ranks No. 2 in that category behind only Luka Doncic. SGA’s development has him leading the Thunder in both scoring (21.8 points per game) and assists (6.8), fully embracing the reigns left to him by Chris Paul.

The bright future many have pegged for OKC is rooted in the hypothetical success of the franchise’s many draft picks. SGA is one of the few real-life building blocks paving the way in the present. That his efficiency hasn’t taken a dip in the face of more defensive attention bodes well for further growth in the primary role he’s assumed.

Some of the other current projects in Oklahoma City are beginning to take shape as well. Along with his stout defense, Dort has found a 3-point shot — 42.9 percent on 4.7 attempts per game — that feels more like a sure thing with each passing game. Diallo is up to 12.1 points in 21.0 minutes a game. Bazley is putting in 11.2 points and 8.3 rebounds across 30.1 nightly minutes.

So much playing time afforded to players no older than 22 is a typical recipe for losing basketball, albeit the type that proves beneficial in the long run.

Veterans earning minutes on a rebuilding team is typically a touchy subject, but when the Thunder shipped out all that talent over the offseason, draft picks weren’t the only thing they got in return. They acquired the perfect compliments to their rebuild, two players who accentuate the core in place without overtaking them in the hierarchy.

The playstyles of Al Horford and George Hill are built on unselfishness, 3-point shooting and defense. As starters alongside SGA, Dort and Bazley, they bring stability to a group still finding their individual self. Their ability to space the court and make correct reads has both ranked above the 75th percentile in points added per 100 possession — per Cleaning The Glass.

An additional part of the simplicity implemented by Daigneault for a budding roster has OKC taking more than 10 extra 3-pointers per game compared to last season’s bottom-five mark, where they now rank No. 3 with 40.4 attempts a night, placing 11th in makes. Heavy reliance on 3-point shooting can lead to varying results with OKC’s inconsistent shooters. It’s why they’re fourth-worst in percentage.

Horford (34.8) and Mike Muscala (42.9) offer respected frontcourt spacing not present last year, widening lanes that contribute to the excess number of drives OKC attempts. But relying on Dort to remain an elite sniper is a dangerous bet to make.

Perhaps it’s the unknowing volatility of the Thunder’s roster beyond the arc that works in their favor. With seven players averaging double-figures, everyone is capable of claiming a game for themselves. Opponents might not want to afford too much freedom for any single player to provide that opportunity.

Defensively is where this team truly shines, placing just a hair outside the top-10. The raw athleticism of guys like Dort, Diallo and Bazley still finding its place on offense is free to wreak havoc at the other end. With Horford in the middle, OKC can switch everything with the intriguing perimeter size of SGA’s seven-foot wingspan and Dort’s well-built 215-pound frame that’s hard to move.

The Thunder don’t force many turnovers but they swarm the perimeter to allow opponents to shoot just 33.8 percent from distance, tied for the fourth-best mark in the NBA. They also limit second-chance points and are disciplined enough to keep teams off the free-throw line, doing both at a top-10 mark.

OKC is affording its young prospects sufficient playing time in a situation that offers legitimate stakes without taking away from the long-term vision of the organization.

You want to criticize a potential short-sighted playoff push that could come at the cost of a talent like Cade Cunningham. But Presti has done everything in his power to start looking towards the future, and yet his team continues to find reasons to remain in the present.