This article is part of our NBA Team Previews series.
2022-23 Oklahoma City 
Team Preview
The Thunder's offseason was headlined by drafting Chet Holmgren with the No. 2 pick in the 2022 Draft. However, he suffered a season-ending foot injury in a Pro-Am game. OKC added other rookies in Ousmane Dieng (11), Jalen Williams (12) and Jaylin Williams (34). Lu Dort also signed a five-year, $87.5 million extension. Aside from that, a lot of lower-level role players were shuffled around.
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2021-22 Record: 24-58; 14th in Western Conference
2022-23 NBA Win Total Odds: 23.5 wins (DraftKings)
2022-23 NBA Title Odds: +100000 (DraftKings)
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Check out our 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball Projections, customizable for your league settings.
Oklahoma City Thunder Fantasy Basketball Preview
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Last season, Gilgeous-Alexander provided stellar all-around averages of 24.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.9 assists. 1.3 steals and 1.6 three-pointers per game. His shooting percentage declined from the season prior, but it still wasn't bad at 45.3 percent, and he also shot 81.0 percent from the charity stripe. Even his 30.8 percent usage rate was the highest mark of his career. The problem was that he only played in 56 games. Over the last two seasons, he's combined to play 91 games. Some of his absences have been because of legitimate injuries, but others were likely the Thunder using "injuries" as an excuse to sit their star player and improve their draft positioning. Will they change those ways this season, especially with Chet Holmgren set to miss his entire rookie campaign? Given the prize jewel that is Victor Wembanyama on the horizon for the 2023 Draft, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Thunder again try to lose as many games as possible. With that in mind, Gilgeous-Alexander could continue to be a risky fantasy option.\
Josh Giddey
Despite taking managers through the rookie roller coaster of ups and downs, Giddey rounded into form toward the end and compiled a successful rookie campaign with the Thunder. In his first 30 games (October through December), he averaged 10.8 points on 39/25/65 shooting, 7.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists in 30.2 minutes. But the new year brought about new efficiency. In his 24 games in 2022, he averaged 14.5 points on 45/28/78 shooting, 8.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 33.4 minutes. Giddey exhibited tremendous upside as a passer as a 19-year-old, though his 47.8 true shooting percentage was awful and tracked with the pre-draft concerns that he may never be a great scorer. He had a heavy diet of floaters, with 33 percent of his shot attempts coming between 4-14 feet from the rim. Encouragingly, he hit 45 percent of those looks, and his improved free-throw percentage as the year wore on sparks some hope that he can consistently nail threes. Giddey should make strides this season while sharing playmaking responsibilities with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. His ceiling is only so high while sharing a team with someone as talented as Gilgeous-Alexander, but SGA's ability off the ball benefits Giddey's usage. Giddey ranked 95th in per-game production last season, so fantasy managers should undoubtedly look to draft him sooner this year.
Luguentz Dort
One of the most promising young wing players in The Association, Dort enjoyed a career year during the 2021-22 season -- his third campaign in the NBA. He averaged 17.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, both career-best numbers, and he supplemented that with 1.7 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.4 blocks per contest. He also posted career-best numbers in field goal percentage (40.4 percent) and free throw percentage (84.3 percent), though the durability remains a concern. He played in 51 games, and while his first two years in the league were during the shortened seasons due to the pandemic, it's worth noting that he hasn't played more than 52 games in any of the three years he's spent in the league so far. Regardless of those concerns, Dort is a solid pickup in most formats since he's widely expected to be one of the top contributors for the Thunder, especially now that Chet Holmgren will miss the entire season due to a foot injury. He could be in line for another strong year worthy of a late-round selection in standard leagues.
Oklahoma City Thunder Depth Chart for 2022-23
Click ahead for a detailed Oklahoma City Thunder Depth Chart
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tre Mann
- SG: Josh Giddey, Aaron Wiggins
- SF: Lu Dort, Jalen Williams
- PF: Darius Bazley, Aleksej Pokusevski
- C: Jeremiah Robinson-Early, Mike Muscala
Oklahoma City Thunder Predictions for 2022-23
It seemed like the Thunder might strive for competitiveness with the addition of Holmgren, but his season-ending injury likely signals another tanking campaign. The trio of SGA, Giddey and Dort is solid, and all are capable of getting better, but the rest of the team feels marginal. Of course, plenty of guys have shown flashes -- playing 45 minutes per game in April last season -- but the floor is quite low on this team. At the same time, OKC won 24 games in a similar situation last season, so will they be worse than that?
Record Prediction
- 25-57
- 13-seed
- Loses in X round
Bold Call
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets traded at some point during the year.
NBA Award Contenders
