OKC Thunder Closing in on Historic Turnover Margin

Dominating the turnover department has been a specialty for the Thunder all season.

Mar 9, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) grabs a loose ball from Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City has dominated the turnover battle better than any team this season and could soon be the best of all time. 

The Thunder’s rise to the top of the Western Conference has been quick but hasn’t seemed to be much of a surprise. One of the keys to the Thunder’s success over the past few seasons has been their ability to win the turnover battle.

While Isaiah Hartenstein’s addition has aided the Thunder’s rebounding numbers, the team’s domination in the turnover department has been a way of countering the often unforgiving numbers on the glass over the past few years. In 2022-23, the Thunder had the league’s second-best turnover differential at +306 and followed that year by having the league’s best in 2023-24 at +248.

By forcing so many more turnovers than they gave up, they were able to exceed expectations in both years. While the Thunder came into this season as the favorite in the West, their turnover margin still helped them exceed expectations again. Through 77 games, the Thunder have forced 401 more turnovers than they’ve given up, making them one of four teams to have a positive 400-turnover differential in a season.

The current record belongs to the 1987-88 Denver Nuggets, who forced 418 more turnovers than they gave away. For the Thunder to match or exceed that, they would need to average at least 3.4 fewer turnovers than their opponents in the final five games. Considering the Thunder currently win the turnover battle by an average of 5.2, that record could soon belong to the Thunder.

To help the Thunder’s quest of having the best turnover differential in league history, one of their final five games comes against the Utah Jazz, who have turned the ball over 432 more times than their opponents, marking the worst turnover differential in NBA history by a wide margin.

So far this season, the Thunder have also only lost the turnover battle in 10 games, which would tie them for the third-fewest games losing the turnover battle in an 82-game season in league history. To add to the absurdity of this Thunder team, they have won all 10 of those games, which could make them the first team to go undefeated when losing the turnover battle in league history.

While the Thunder have dominated in a variety of areas this season, they will be remembered best for how they’ve dominated the turnover battle.

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