Lack of Experience Listed Again as the Case Against OKC Thunder

Once again, inexperience is listed as the main reason against the Thunder in 2024-25.

Apr 10, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; (L-R) Oklahoma City Thunder guard Isaiah Joe (11) and forward Jaylin Williams (6) and guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and forward Jalen Williams (8) and forward Chet Holmgren (7) watch their team play against the San Antonio Spurs during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma City is clearly in a good stop to contend next season. With a bonafide MVP candidate, two rising potential All-Stars, and a supporting cast of elite role players, the Thunder has cracked the code for success.

Now that the team addressed its rebounding issues from a season ago and added a connector in place of Josh Giddey, there’s no real holes on the roster. Oklahoma City should be an elite defensive team and a well-oiled machine on offense. There’s a handful of great isolation players surrounded by the top 3-point shooting role players in the NBA percentage wise. It’s also a young team that will love to run in transition.

When you look at teams in the top three of the NBA’s championship odds, the only real holes are pretty nit-picky. Bleacher Report recently published an article deciphering the case against the top contenders in the league, and Oklahoma City’s will be all too familiar to Thunder fans. It’s something the fanbase had to hear constantly a season ago, and it appears to be starting back up again.

“It's difficult to argue against the Thunder, who finished (via tiebreaker) as the No. 1 seed last year in the West and have since improved,” Eric Pincus wrote. “But this is still a very young, inexperienced team.”



“Caruso has a championship with the Lakers, and Hartenstein was vital to the Knicks in their run last season. The Thunder's core players added experience in last year's postseason, but the team may be a year away when it comes to having the "know-how" to close out later rounds of the playoffs.”

If Oklahoma City had only made the play-in or gotten bounced in the first round a season ago, this would be a bit more valid. But the stone cold facts are that Oklahoma City won a playoff series in emphatic fashion and were a last second foul away from taking Dallas to a Game 7 at home. The Thunder gained extremely valuable experience on the big stage last season and the young core is battle tested.

The additions of Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso gives Oklahoma City even more battle-tested veterans. Hartenstein is coming off of a deep postseason run with the Knicks and Caruso has championship experience from his time with the Lakers.

Oklahoma City’s playoff battle with the Mavericks was exactly what the team needed in terms of experienced. They struggled, made changes, found success, and went through the highs and lows of an intense playoff series. That should be plenty of experience moving forward, especially this next season. The rest of that experience will have to be through growth as the team moves forward.

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