Advanced Stats Depict OKC Thunder as one of NBA's Primary Championship Contenders

Oklahoma City has played 20 games this season, and despite dealing with multiple injuries, has performed like a championship contender.

Dec 1, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) dunks the ball as Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) defends during the first quarter at Toyota Center. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

After winning 57 games in 2023-24, the Oklahoma City Thunder have had a strong start to the 2024-25 campaign as well.

OKC sits at 15-5 on the season and holds the No. 3 offensive rating and No. 4 defensive rating in the NBA, per Basketball Reference. Despite Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, Jaylin Williams, Alex Caruso and Ousmane Dieng all missing time in the first 20 games of the year, the Thunder still sit atop the Western Conference.

The Thunder are one of the NBA's primary championship contenders this season, as evident by their offensive and defensive ratings. According to Todd Whitehead of Synergy Sports Technology, 44 of the last 45 NBA champions have finished the regular season with one of the seven best offensive or defensive net ratings in the NBA, while being in the top 18 in the other category.

Whitehead pointed out that seven teams in the NBA currently meet those criteria, including Oklahoma City.

44 of the last 45 NBA champions (going back to 1980), have had a Top-7 regular season rank in either ORTG or DRTG and nothing worse than the 18th rank in both. On average, there are 8.4 teams each year that achieve those criteria. So far this season, seven teams are qualified. pic.twitter.com/Op1vbk06Jn

— Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) December 1, 2024

According to Synergy, Mark Daigneault's team boasts the No. 1 defensive rating in the NBA and the No. 12 offensive rating in the league. The Celtics, Cavaliers, Rockets, Grizzlies, Mavericks and Warriors are the other six teams that fit the criteria Whitehead described.

While boasting the No. 12 offensive rating in the NBA is solid, the Thunder have a chance to drastically improve on offense if Holmgren returns to action before the regular season comes to a close. Additionally, having more depth when Caruso, Dieng and Williams are back in the lineup should help the Thunder's become even more potent.

On defense, OKC has maintained one of the top units in the NBA despite being without two of the league's best defenders for stretches. Holmgren, likely the team's best overall defender, is sidelined with a hip injury while Caruso, an All-Defense honoree, has been in and out of the lineup with his own ailments.

According to Synergy's advanced stats, Oklahoma City should be in the mix for a trip to the NBA Finals if they can get healthy ahead of the postseason.

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