Oklahoma City
Thunder ROSTER
21-50 • 14th in WESTERN CONFERENCE
| NAME | POS | AGE | SALARY | HT | WT | COLLEGE | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #42 | Al Horford | C-F | 34 | N/A | 6' 9" | 240 lbs | FLORIDA | |
| #17 | Aleksej Pokusevski | C | 19 | N/A | 7' 0" | 190 lbs | N/A | |
| #7 | Darius Bazley | F-G | 20 | N/A | 6' 8" | 208 lbs | N/A | |
| #22 | Isaiah Roby | F | 23 | N/A | 6' 8" | 230 lbs | NEBRASKA | |
| #8 | Jaylen Hoard | F | 22 | N/A | 6' 8" | 216 lbs | WAKE FOREST | |
| #15 | Josh Hall | F | 20 | N/A | 6' 9" | 190 lbs | N/A | |
| #34 | Kenrich Williams | G-F | 26 | N/A | 6' 6" | 210 lbs | TCU | |
| #5 | Luguentz Dort | G | 22 | N/A | 6' 3" | 215 lbs | ARIZONA STATE | |
| #33 | Mike Muscala | F-C | 29 | N/A | 6' 10" | 240 lbs | BUCKNELL | |
| #9 | Moses Brown | C | 21 | N/A | 7' 2" | 245 lbs | UCLA | |
| #2 | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | G-F | 22 | N/A | 6' 6" | 180 lbs | KENTUCKY | |
| #14 | Svi Mykhailiuk | G-F | 23 | N/A | 6' 7" | 205 lbs | KANSAS | |
| #11 | Theo Maledon | G | 19 | N/A | 6' 4" | 175 lbs | N/A | |
| #13 | Tony Bradley | C-F | 23 | N/A | 6' 10" | 248 lbs | NORTH CAROLINA |
After a highly-impressive 2019-20 campaign in which they proved all their doubters wrong, the Oklahoma City Thunder opted to carry on with their rebuilding phase during the offseason.
The Thunder parted ways with most of their best players from the previous season in Chris Paul (traded to the Phoenix Suns), Dennis Schroder (traded to the Los Angeles Lakers), Steven Adams (traded to the New Orleans Pelicans), and Danilo Gallinari (signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Hawks).
While the Thunder did lose a number of key guys, they were also able to add a few more future draft picks as part of the above trades, which only adds to their massive collection. Needless to say, this team is pretty set for the next few years in terms of young talent coming in via the draft.
Generally a young squad, OKC brought in a couple of battle-tested veterans via trade. George Hill made his move to Oklahoma, while former Philadelphia 76ers big man Al Horford also joined the squad in the offseason. Notably, the Thunder will also be shouldering the former All-Star's mammoth deal, with Horford set to earn a whopping $81 million over the next three seasons.
Other acquisitions made by the Thunder during the offseason include Justin Jackson, Ty Jerome, Darius Miller, and Kenrich Williams. They also added three players in the draft in Aleksej Pkusevski (17th), Theo Maledon (34th), and Vit Krejci (37th).
All eyes will be on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander this season, with the 22-year-old expected to have another huge year following last season's breakout campaign. SGA's current deal will expire at the end of the 2021-22 season, so the 6-foot-6 combo guard could be in line for a massive extension with the Thunder in the near future.
Darius Bazley, Lu Dort, George Hill, and Horford join Gilgeous-Alexander in the starting five for rookie head coach Mark Daigneualt, who was promoted during the offseason following the departure of Billy Donovan.
oklahoma city thunder Team Analysis
The Oklahoma City Thunder were one of the biggest surprises in the 2019-20 season. Most folks counted them out early on, only for this team to prove their doubters wrong by clinching a playoff spot in a ruthless Western Conference.
While defense proved to be the Thunder's strong suit in 2019-20, they were a pretty solid offensive team as well. All in all, they amassed an offensive rating of 110.1, which was 17th in the NBA.
Scoring-wise, OKC put up 110.4 points per game. That ranked just 21st in the entire league.
When you look at field goal attempts, OKC totaled just 85.5 per game in 2019-20, which was a lowly 28th in the NBA. This had a lot to do with star point guard Chris Paul, who operates best in the half-court. With CP3 gone, it is possible that the Thunder incorporate a more run-and-gun type of play this season.
Despite their lack of attempts, the Thunder made their shots count. OKC made 46.8 percent of their attempts per game, which was 10th in the league.
OKC didn't hoist too many triples, logging just 30.2 per game (27th) while making 35.5 percent of their shots from rainbow territory (18th).
The Thunder did a great job getting to the line. They attempted a total of 24.8 free-throw attempts last season (fifth) while making 79.6 percent of them (sixth).
One of their biggest weaknesses last season, however, was their offensive rebounds. The Thunder logged just 8.2 boards on the offensive end last term, which was dead last in the NBA.
Interestingly, despite having one of the best playmakers of all time on their squad, the Thunder averaged just 21.7 assists in 2019-20, which ranked 28th in the league. They took care of the rock extremely well, though, averaging just 13.7 turnovers per contest (sixth).
Needless to say, with a revamped roster for the new season, we expect significant changes in their offensive numbers in 2020-21.
Despite their lowly preseason expectations, the Oklahoma City Thunder emerged as one of the best teams in the entire league in 2019-20. This had a lot to do with their defense as a unit.
In terms of their overall defensive rating, the Thunder ranked seventh in the NBA last season at 108.1. Let's break this down here.
OKC allowed their opponents just 108.4 points per game, which also ranked seventh in the league. They held opposing teams to 89.6 attempts per game (19th) on a 45.5-percent shooting clip (10th).
Thunder opponents were able to attempt 33.3 triples per game (10th) while connecting on just 34.0 percent of them (third).
Oklahoma City was extremely cautious with their fouls, averaging just 22.8 per game -- a very impressive second fewest in the entire league. This resulted in opponents taking just 19.6 free-throw attempts per contest (third).
Rebounding, however, was one of this team's biggest weaknesses. They averaged just 42.9 boards per game (23rd), with 34.7 of them coming on the defensive end (15th).
The Thunder swiped the ball 7.6 times last season (16th) -- a number that will likely decrease now that Chris Paul (1.6 steals per game in 2019-20) is out of the picture. Their opponents averaged 14.2 turnovers per game last season (18th).
OKC was also a mediocre team in terms of blocked shots, averaging 4.9 swats per game (15th).
The Thunder are currently under rookie head coach Mark Daigneault, who at 35 is the second-youngest head coach in the league after Ryan Saunders of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Daigneault served as an assistant to Billy Donovanin 2019-20. He clearly did enough to impress the Thunder brass, with the front office deciding to promote Daigneault as the new head coach after parting ways with Donovan in the offseason.
Daigneault cut his teeth as a student manager at UConn under legendary NCAA coach Jim Calhoun. He then started his head coaching career as the shot-caller for the Florida Gators from 2010 to 2014. This was followed by a five-year stint with the Thunder's NBA G-League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue.
Having no prior experience as an NBA head coach, there's no denying that the Thunder took a huge gamble in naming Daigneault as the squad's head honcho for the 2020-21 season.
Top oklahoma city thunder Roster Questions
The Thunder's last free agent signing came in the form of 7-foot-2 center Moses Brown. The 21-year-old signed with Oklahoma City on a two-way contract on December 8.
Brown suited up for just nine games for the Portland Trail Blazers in 2019-20, averaging 1.2 points and 1.6 rebounds in 3.7 minutes per contest.
Brown made his Thunder debut on December 31st in a blowout loss against the New Orleans Pelicans. Brown managed two boards and one block in three minutes of action.
The Thunder didn't make too many moves in the 2020 offseason in terms of signing free agents. As a matter of fact, OKC's only free agent signings came in the form of a couple of two-way contracts.
The Thunder signed 7-foot-2 big man Moses Brown, who played for the Portland Trail Blazers last season. They also brought on undrafted rookie Josh Hall, a 6-foot-9 small forward, to the squad.
Other names that were linked to OKC in the offseason include Davis Bertans, Derrick Jones Jr., and Joe Harris.
OKC added a much-needed veteran presence to their roster during the offseason by acquiring former All-Star big man Al Horford from the Philadelphia 76ers.
Along with Horford, the Sixers also sent Theo Maledon, Vasilije Micic, and a 2025 first-round pick to the Thunder in exchange for Danny Green, Terrance Ferguson, and Vincent Poirier.
It is worth noting that Horford is set to earn $81 million over the next three seasons. In his first four appearances for OKC, the 34-year-old averaged 10.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists, while also connecting on 2.0 triples on a 38.1-percent clip. Horford was mostly a salary dump for the Sixers.
Since their move to Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder have been to the NBA Finals just once. This came during the historic 2011-12 season, which also happened to be the year OKC fielded its most formidable lineup.
2011-12 was the last season the trio of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden was still with the Thunder. Their frontcourt was manned by the duo of Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins. Thabo Sefolosha, Nick Collison, and Derek Fisher were some of the key guys on the second unit. Daequan Cook, Eric Maynor, Nazr Mohammed, and Reggie Jackson (as a 21-year-old rookie) rounded out the Thunder's lineup that year.
OKC went all the way to the Finals, where they were eventually defeated by the Miami Heat and their infamous Big 3 in five games.
According to spotrac the Thunder are estimated to operate with a $122.6 million total cap for the 2020-21 season.
OKC's biggest earner this season is newcomer Al Horford, who is going to pocket a massive $27.5 million. Their second-highest earner is Trevor Ariza ($12.8 million), who seems to have no intentions of suiting up for the Thunder.
For some perspective, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander -- arguably OKC's best player -- is set to earn just $4.1 million in 2020-21.
In 2019-20, the Thunder had Dennis Schroder coming off the bench, and the German national had a tremendous campaign that resulted in him being voted as the runner-up for the Sixth Man of the Year award. With Schroder out of the picture, the Sixth Man role is up for grabs for the Thunder in 2020-21.
Guys like Mike Muscala, Hamidou Diallo, and even Theo Maledon have logged heavy minutes off the bench for new head coach Mark Daigneault to start the season, and all three have played a significant role for the team's second unit.
The Thunder's starting lineup for the 2020-21 season features a new backcourt partnership in veteran point guard George Hill and rising star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Second-year swingman Luguentz Dort continues to man the starting small forward spot, while fellow sophomore Darius Bazley has been named as the squad's starting power forward. Offseason acquisition Al Horford, a five-time All-Star, serves as the Thunder's new starting center.
