By: Ryan Guo
The Oklahoma City Thunder is still going to lose a lot of games in the 2022-23 NBA season, but their games will be exciting to watch and they might be able to rise in the rankings due to two new players, Chet Holmgren and Josh Giddey.
Six years ago, the OKC was one of the best teams in the NBA with two stars, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but they both ended up leaving OKC. Luckily, the Thunder acquired Chris Paul, another all-star, but they ended up trading him away at the end of the season.
In the 2021 NBA season, the Thunder only won a total of 22 games, and in 2022, they only improved by 2 games.
Now, the Thunder will be much more fun to watch with Chet Holmgren and Josh Giddey, as well as their star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The fun always starts with Holmgren. In his first game at Las Vegas, the Thunder let him bring up the ball to start the offense and be aggressive. He ended up finishing with 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks.
“I think with a guy like him, it’s easy to get siloed into one specific facet of the game, good or bad for him, because he’s so unique,” said Kam Woods, the OKC summer league coach. “He impacts the game in a lot of ways. So I thought his rim protection was really good. I thought he found offense within what we’re doing.”
“I mean, he does everything on both sides of the floor. He can stretch the floor, knock down threes, plays at the rim, can play in the mid-range,” Giddey said. “On the defensive end protects the rim like I’ve never seen before. So I know he’s got my back on that end, great guy to play with.”
“I spent a lot of time this summer in the weight room so I’ve been getting stronger and then that will allow me to take more contact going into the paint,” Giddey said after an excellent night of 14 points and eight assists. “I’m making an emphasis of getting to the rim and whether it’s me finishing or dishing out… I think last year I shied away from a lot of contact. I got bumped off my line a fair bit, but I think now I’m starting to get stronger to be more physical.”
However, Giddey and Holmgen can still improve. While Holmgen seems strong, but he still needs more muscle. In one possession, he tried to bump into someone to get space, but he ended up getting his shot blocked. Holmgen has also been getting outstripped on rebounds a lot. On the other hand, Giddey’s decisions with the ball have improved, but he still makes wild passes that he should not have attempted.
Sources: https://nba.nbcsports.com/2022/07/10/summer-league-notes-with-holmgren-giddey-thunder-will-be-fun-to-watch/