Thunder Tickets

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been rebuilding for years with one of the best front offices leading the charge. The team struggled, finishing in 14th place in the west in 2021 and 2022. They made improvements in the 2022-23 season finishing 10th but still missing the playoffs. During these years the team continued to make trades, getting draft picks and building a young team. In the 2023-24 season, the team was ready as they finished the season 57-25, first place in the West. Their squad was incredibly balanced with a third-ranked offense and 4th ranked defense, combining for a net rating of 7.4, second in the NBA. The Thunder were ready to make a splash in the playoffs after a long drought without an appearance. The squad had the talent but many questioned the young team's experience. 

Entering the playoffs the Thunder had high expectations as they proved their ability to win in the regular season. In the first round, the team faced the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans squeaked into the playoffs and were faced with a much stronger opponent.  The series would not be close as the Thunder would sweep with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams leading the team to victory. In the second round, the Thunder faced the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks had a strong squad but were underdogs compared to the Thunder. Despite the Thunders's skill, their lack of experience showed and the team lost in six games, ending the Thunders's season. Despite this disappointing result, there was still an upside, the team is young and needed playoff experience and that is what they got. 

The Thunder are the youngest team in the NBA with an average age of 24.1. This is a result of years of trading away players for draft picks and building the team through the draft. The team's three leading scorers are all 25 or younger with the team's star, Shair Gilgeous-Alexander only being 25. The other main contributors are Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren. Williams is a 22-year-old forward who averaged an impressive 19.1 points per game and has plenty of room to grow and improve. Holmgren is a 21-year-old 7’-1” freak of nature, and averaged 16.5 points and 2.3 blocks per game. Last but not least is the team's star player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who all at the age of 25, led the team in scoring with 30.1 points per game, finished second in MVP voting, and was selected to the All-NBA first team and an all-star. The future is bright for the Thunder as the team will only improve as their young core continues to gain experience and develop. The Thunder will be championship contenders for years to come and this could be the beginning of a dynasty.      

The Oklahoma City Thunder came to Oklahoma from Seattle. The SuperSonics agreed to move the franchise in 2008. The team plays at the Paycom Center. Within a year of their move, the team made the NBA playoffs. By their second season, the Thunder won their first Western Conference title. With a record of 50-32, the team eased into the playoffs, losing the finals to Los Angeles. 

At the end of the 2022-23 season, the Thunder had an overall record of 40-42, which put them in tenth place in the Western Conference. That was a major improvement for the Thunder from the previous season where the team won just 24 games. The last season that the Thunder had a winning record was in 2019-2020 when the team finished in fifth place with a 44-28 record. 

The stand-out player at the end of the 2022-23 season was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He scored 2135 points in the season, with 329 rebounds. His stellar free-throw percentage was 90.5%. That all occurred over just 68 games. Josh Giddey played in 76 games, scored 1260 points, had 469 assists, and 599 rebounds. Jalen Williams scored 1056 points, 337 rebounds, 248 assists, and 103 steals.