What is the OKC Thunder's 'X-Factor' Heading into the Postseason?

Oklahoma City has been one of the best teams in the NBA all season, and became the first team to reach 60 wins in 2025 on Monday night.

Feb 7, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins (21) and forward Jalen Williams (8) high five after a play against the Toronto Raptors during the second half at Paycom Center. / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

On Monday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder became the first team in the NBA this season to reach 60 wins with a 121-105 win against the Sacramento Kings.

OKC has clenched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference for the second year in a row with an even better record than the team had last season (57-25). In addition to a strong regular season record, the Thunder have one of the two frontrunners in the MVP race and boast one of the best Net Ratings in recent memory.

Despite all of the team's success this season, though, Mark Daigneault and company still have to produce in the postseason to be viewed as anything more than a "regular season team". In a recent episode of the Game Theory Podcast with Sam Vecenie and Bryce Simon, the duo discussed "x-factors" for each of this season's title contenders.

For the Thunder, both of the shows hosts pointed out that the team needs to find a consistent second scoring option in the playoffs to make a championship run.

"I think for Oklahoma City, where I kind of came down on it was, where they get their secondary creation," Vecenie said. "The thing is, they have a number of different options (of) where it can come from. It's just that, they need it to come every night. ... I would think that they'll find it, it's just that that's the big question for me. ... I think J-Dub has been really good recently, actually. So, that really helps ease the burden a little bit of where this could land, and I think him having that experience in the playoffs last year will be really critical."

This isn't the first time an NBA analyst has mentioned that the Thunder need to find a reliable second scoring option, especially after last year's postseason loss to the Dallas Mavericks. MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has obviously been the team's first option this season, and first-time All-Star Jalen Williams has taken over as the team's No. 2 scorer.

While Williams may have always been heading for this role, Chet Holmgren missing a large portion of the season certainly contributed to the third-year wing getting more opportunities on offense. Williams is averaging 21.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game this season while shooting 47.8% from the field and 36.2% from beyond the arc.

Alongside Williams, former second round pick Aaron Wiggins has also developed into a solid scorer off the bench for Oklahoma City. In less than 23 minutes per game, Wiggins is averaging 11.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists while shooting 49.1% from the floor and 39% from 3-point range.

"Since Aaron Wiggins had that 41-point game back on Feb. 1st, " Vecenie said. "He's averaging 16 points, five rebounds, two assists, shooting (50% from the field, 43% from 3-point range and 82% from the free throw line). So, Wiggins has been fantastic, and it could just be Aaron Wiggins is now this incredibly awesome player who, when we do best contracts in the league, Aaron Wiggins is going to be on that, almost certainly, for me. Like, he is in this incredible position where he is going to get to, potentially, really get to thrive in key playoff matchups."

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