How the OKC Thunder is Navigating High Expectations

Oklahoma City will operate with high expectations this season.

Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Thunder media day ay the Paycom Center Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. / DOUG HOKE/THEOKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For the first time in a long time, Oklahoma City has high expectations heading into the NBA season. The last two years, the team has exceeded preseason odds and surprised the NBA community. There’s no one to surprise anymore, though.

The Thunder has the best preseason odds to win a loaded Western Conference, and Oklahoma City is a trendy NBA finals pick at the moment. For the team’s young core, they’ll have to figure out how play with lofty expectations for the first time since the rebuild. They’ll get everyone’s best shot every night and have a target on their back.

Oklahoma City’s leader isn’t too worried about handling the high expectations, though. It’s a fun development in the process of turning into a championship contender.

“Honestly, when we sucked as a basketball team, we weren't worried about the world is going to respect us,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We were just, like, let's — we're not where we want to be. Let's make sure that we get to where we want to be, and the only way to do that is to get better every day, and we did a good job of that.”

Oklahoma City has the perfect mix of players from the team’s original core and veterans with experience. Players like Gilgeous-Alexander have experienced both the highs and the lows of the Thunder’s last five seasons, and that just makes the journey all the more gratifying.

The added expectations have made things more fun for the young team. Getting nationally televised games and being in the media spotlight is an enjoyable experience.

“It's sure fun,” Gilgeous-Alexander said about having expectations. “At the end of the day, we all are playing a game to win, win basketball games. The more you do so, the more fun you have playing it. I think that's what kind of turned around for us last year. Not trying to replicate it. We're trying to be better. 

“I think as long as we stay on course and we do what got us here, we'll be just fine. I think we're more worried about that than the expectations or what we're supposed to be or not supposed to be. Just making sure we stay true to who we are in this process.”

The main goal, of course, is to prove those expectations were warranted. Predictions are one thing, but proving it is a whole new ball game. The last two seasons, Oklahoma City has exceeded expectations. This year, they’ll try to validate the expectations and the the contender status.

One of the main things to fuel them along the way will be the results from last postseason. Oklahoma City proved it belonged, but came up a hair short in the end. Now, they’ll have those playoff experiences with added reinforcements.

“Yeah,” Gilgeous-Alexander answered when asked if the team still had a chip on their shoulder.

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