After Valuable Lessons in Defeat, OKC Thunder Ready to Make a Run

The Thunder’s loss in the playoffs will propel this team to new heights.

May 13, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward P.J. Washington (25) yells at Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) and guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and forward Kenrich Williams (34) during the second half in game four of the second round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Throughout the course of the season, Oklahoma City heard about its inexperience over and over again.

Sure, the Thunder sat at No. 1 in the Western Conference down the stretch, but they never seemed to get the respect they deserved. The main reason for that was the team’s age. It felt like all season, when the media was discussing title contenders, the Thunder never got a serious shot because of how young they were. Oklahoma City was the youngest No. 1 seed ever, and the youngest team to ever win a playoff series — it made sense.

In all reality though, the journey Oklahoma City went on in the postseason last year was exactly what this team needed. Experiencing both winning and losing, taking in the highs and the lows, and figuring out how to respond to both was one of the most important things Oklahoma City could’ve learned.

“Losing sucks,” Chet Holmgren said. “Nobody wants to lose. Losing hurts. We were definitely hurt when we lost last year. We didn't like that. It gives you valuable lessons if you allow it to.

“When you win, a lot of times you can kind of gloss over mistakes that you have. We won the game, so we must have been doing everything right. You know what I'm saying? When you lose, it really opens your eyes to what you have to work on, and it also tells you what you have to work on because you lost for a reason.”

Most of the Thunder’s mistakes were very fixable. And losing allowed the front office to get a great idea of what needed to be done to reach the next level. And they delivered, too. Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso are two players that elevate the Thunder to the top tier of NBA contenders.

“If you were the better team, you would have won,” Holmgren said. “It just told us what we had to work on going into the offseason. Not only myself, but all the players on our team as well as our coaching staff. Everybody was really accountable and able to look at themselves on what they could do better, and we are going to take that into this season and mesh it together as a team.

“I think that will leave us in a better spot and a better team.”

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