Through two weeks of action, the Oklahoma City Thunder are a perfect 6-0. The Thunder are playing beyond even the lofty expectations placed upon them coming into the 2024-25 season.
The Thunder have been absolutely dominant on the defensive side of the floor — leading the league in DRTG (94.9), points allowed (97.5), forced turnovers (20.8), and steals (13.3) & blocks (8.0) per game.
Through the first two weeks, the Thunder have a NET Ranking of + 17.7 — which currently ranks 2nd in the league, the strength of schedule hasn’t been the most difficult during the Thunder’s. Still, the Thunder have to play the opponent in front of them, and the Thunder have been taking care of business as their average margin of victory this past week was 16 points, which is a sign of dominance regardless of the opponents.
Here’s my Week 2 — Thunder Player of the Week:
OKC Player of the Week
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder to their second consecutive undefeated week (3-0) in Week 2 with averages of 24.3 points, 6.6 assists, and 4.6 rebounds, while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 94.1 percent from the free throw line.
SGA started off the week slow, as he had one of his worst performances from a scoring efficiency standpoint in quite some time, recording 18 points on 7-of-20 shooting from the field and 2-of-10 from beyond the arc against the San Antonio Spurs. The main issue was the quality of shots that he was taking from beyond the arc, which were forced shots and not in the flow of the offense. Due to the depth and talent of the roster, it didn’t keep the Thunder from getting the victory.
SGA would bounce back and have a vintage “SGA” game in their second game of the week — against the Portland Trailblazers. Without playing in the 4th quarter, SGA finished with 30 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and a steal, on — 12 of 18 shooting from the floor.
To end the week, SGA finished the week strong with 25 points, 9 assists, and 3 rebounds, in only 31 minutes of play.
Shai’s 3-Point Volume
The Thunder has made it an emphasis to get up more 3-Point attempts as a team, which applies directly to SGA as he’s currently attempting 7.2 3PA per game (12 for 43) in his first six games.
Last season, SGA attempted 3.6 3PA per game.
SGA’s increase in 3-point volume is him experimenting on what works and what doesn’t work, and it’s a way to prepare for the playoffs. If SGA can become a consistent threat from beyond the arc — it’ll open up his game more and it’ll open more lanes for his teammates. When the offense slows down or the offense gets stagnant, being a consistent threat from deep will be a valuable weapon for the Thunder.
Takeaways:
The Thunder are picking right back up from where they left off from last season after earning the No. 1 seed as the youngest team in the Western Conference last year. The Thunder have been far and away the best defense throughout the first two weeks The maturity from a team this young should not be taken for granted.
The Thunder took care of business, earning victories over San Antonio (winning 105 to 93), Portland (winning 137 to 114), and Los Angeles Clippers (winning 105-92).
Note: The Thunder have been dominant through the first two weeks and this is with the offense having a lot of room for improvement as the Thunder’s offense has been mediocre thus far. The Thunder’s defense has been stifling and suffocating and when this offense gets going. Watch out. The first two weeks have shown that the Thunder have a large margin for error due to their depth and talent. The Thunder are 6-0 for the first time in franchise history and this group is on track to having the best regular season in franchise history.
Main Image: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
