The Race for Next Year’s Starting Lineup Has Begun

It's not too early to take a look at a potential fifth starter for next years' squad.

As many what-if games happen this season, the Oklahoma City Thunder can only imagine what this season could look like if Chet Holmgren was healthy for his rookie campaign.

Unfortunately, Holmgren’s debut will wait until the 2023-24 season, but the Thunder get more opportunities to continue and see who will be the consistent starter alongside Holmgren, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey and Lu Dort.

With the names listed, it appears as if the Thunder will try to place a power forward into that slot, leaving the job up for grabs between Aleksej Pokusevski and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. Now, there’s going to be moments where one player fits the matchup better than the other, and Head Coach Mark Daigneault will make that adjustment accordingly. Consistency is going to be huge for the starting lineup, as they’re going to want to have as much burn as possible as a lineup if they’re planning on making a play-in push.

Pokusevski and Robinson-Earl have eerily similar stats, as both players have started 17 games this season. Pokusevski is averaging 9.3 points per game in 22.3 minutes per game, whereas Robinson-Earl is averaging 8.8 points per game in 21.5 minutes per game.

Depending on the biggest weakness from the starting lineup next season, there’s no true answer as to which player deserves the starting spot more. Not to mention, it will be worth taking a look at Jalen Williams starting at the power forward spot to see what a potential small ball, floor spacing lineup could look like.

Nonetheless, there is no right or wrong answer this far ahead of next season, but it’s an interesting situation to watch as the season progresses.

The identity of the squad should also be taken into account when thinking of what player could start alongside the other four starters. Will the Thunder want to play faster, bigger, or with more spacing?

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