Thunder Tuning Out Tank Cries, Rallying To Close Season

Even with lottery implications at stake, the Oklahoma City Thunder are focused on closing the year strong.

The Oklahoma City Thunder won their basketball game against the Orlando Magic yesterday. But, depending on who you ask – you might hear that, in all actuality, they lost the contest.

That is not an uncommon stance.

Ever since the Oklahoma City Thunder reshuffled the deck two seasons ago, one thing has remained on the radar – ping-pong balls. Under the league’s restructured lottery system, the bottom three teams in the league share identical odds at the No. 1 Pick (14.0%) in addition to a Top 4 chance (50.2%) come lottery day. After that, there’s a progressive dropoff in both categories.

As a result of this, there have been zero stigmas from fans and media alike surrounding the Thunder tanking in the name of draft odds. That sentiment doesn’t hold firm in the coaching room.

In a media presser leading into Sunday’s meeting versus the Orlando Magic, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman inquired on Mark Daigneault’s stance on tanking and if it has piqued internal discussions. Needless to say, it appears Daigneault is not commanding the tank.

“One of the things that’s great about being part of a team, as much as we want to engage with you guys and our fans, there’s something sacred about the locker room, the priorities, and the tightness in the circle,” said Daigneault.

“There's a lot of people that aren't in there, and it makes it a pretty exclusive place. I give our team a lot of credit, because I think our players, our staff have done a great job over the years – not just this circumstance – of just keeping our locker room our space, where we have our mindset, where we work on our fundamentals, our habits and we hone our mentality, and not get distracted by anything outside of that. That's included in this [tank discussions.] That’s certainly not a focus of ours.”

Even if tanking would be the best option in the Thunder’s long-term plans – it’s no surprise that both he and the roster have not entertained the idea. Oklahoma City is permeating with rising talent. With the youngest roster in the league, coupled with 10 players age 23 or younger, the entire rotation is looking to make a statement. Tanking does not align with such values. Mix this in with the fact Oklahoma City has three first-round picks this upcoming draft – a good cut of the rotation is looking to prove their worth headed into the offseason.

After tip-toeing around lottery ranks all of last season, the Thunder finished the year tied for the fourth-best lottery odds. One coin flip later, Oklahoma City ended with Pick No. 6. This season, the approach looks to be the same: look to push for victories – and live with the result.

Due to their recent win, Oklahoma City floundered an opportunity to sneak into a top-three lottery seed. However, with nine games still on tap – the franchise still may meet lottery lovers' aspirations.

The Thunder are currently seeded fourth in reverse standings at 21-52. They stand one game behind the Detroit Pistons (20-53) for the third-best lottery odds.