OKC Thunder Depth Could Steal Spotlight in MVP Battle

The Thunder are one of the deepest teams in the league, and that will be on full display against Denver.

Nov 25, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) high fives guard Aaron Wiggins (21) during the second quarter of the game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images / Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

All eyes will be on the MVP candidates in the next two games, but they might not be the story by the end of the matchups.

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets are set for a couple of the most highly anticipated games of the season. While the Thunder have the No. 1 seed locked up in the West, the Nuggets have a chance to prove they still belong in the top tier of the conference as legitimate title contenders.

While that would be enough to bring plenty of hype into Sunday’s matchup on ABC, the game also features a heavyweight battle in the MVP race. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been the MVP frontrunner for most of the season, but Nikola Jokic has continued to be on his tail and has inched closer to overtaking the Thunder star as the favorite after recording the league’s first 30-20-20 game in his last outing.

Of course, a major part of Gilgeous-Alexander’s rise to the top of the MVP race has been team success. The Thunder are 52-11 and hold a commanding lead at the top of the Western Conference.

While Gilgeous-Alexander’s 50-point nights and three-quarter masterpieces have helped the Thunder get to their perch, his supporting cast has been arguably the best in basketball. Even beyond first-time All-Star Jalen Williams and ascending star Chet Holmgren, the Thunder have a roster filled with contributors as evidenced by their win on Friday against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Without those three stars, Lu Dort, Isaiah Hartenstein and Cason Wallace, the Thunder still managed to come away with an 18-point win over a hot Blazers team. The stars from Friday’s win could soon become the unsung heroes on Sunday and Monday.

Aaron Wiggins had 30 points against the Blazers and is in the midst of the best stretch of his career, averaging 18.5 points in a 17-game stretch since the start of February. Along with Wiggins, Isaiah Joe and Alex Caruso have turned a corner offensively in recent weeks, with the duo shooting 44.8% and 43.8% from deep respectively since the start of the new year. Add in Jaylin Williams, the Thunder’s third-string center, who put up his first career triple-double on Friday, and the Thunder’s depth beyond their top six players is unheard of. 

While Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic could easily have a back-and-forth battle as two of the best in the entire league, the Thunder’s depth has proven to be better than just about any team its come across this season and will be the key to winning not only these next two matchups but also to winning an NBA championship.

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