OKC Thunder Group Chat Illustrates Team's Defensive Depth

Multiple Oklahoma City Thunder players revealed that several members of the team are in a group chat designated for the group's top perimeter defenders.

Luguentz Dort is pictured during the Thunder media day at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. / NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Oklahoma City Thunder had one of the best defenses in the NBA last season, and seem poised to have an even more formidable group in 2024-25.

During last season's playoff run, ace defender Lu Dort pulled back the curtain to reveal that he and a few of his teammates were in a group chat with one of their assistant coaches to help break down defensive clips and gameplans.

After OKC made multiple personnel changes over the offseason, however, the group's members have changed. According to Dort, the other members of the group chat now include Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins.

All four of the aforementioned players are fiesty perimeter defenders who will allow the Thunder to play a continuous rotation of staunch defenders at the guard position and on the wing.

Aside from the four talented defensmen who are actually in the group chat, players like Jalen Williams and even Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are also very strong defenders on the perimeter. Gilgeous-Alexander notched two steals per game last season, and came up with multiple big-time defensive plays in the postseason.

Listed at 6-foot-5 with a 7-2 wingspan, Williams has had a solid start to his career on the defensive end of the floor, and has the potential to improve even more in that aspect of the game. Williams has averaged more than one steal per contest during each of his first two seasons in the league, and could develop into an All-Defense level player.

"That's a fun group chat to be a part of," Wiggins said on Friday. "To learn from, and to also kind of attack every game with a lot of film and discussions and how to guard certain guys. So, looking forward to everybody's personalities and characteristics in that. ... I've actually seen some people kind of complaining about like (Jalen Williams) and Chet (Holmgren) not being in it. Those guys are like another breed. They could be in the group chat, obviously."

Aside from the variety of talented perimeter defenders on the team, Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein also bolster the Thunder's defensive unit on the interior, fortifying an impressive group that should be one of the best defenses in the NBA this season.

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