Last season, the Oklahoma City Thunder failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2009 as the result of terrible injury luck. The front office used the lost year to make some much needed tweaks to the roster and the bench. A multi-player mid-season trade brought in depth in the form of D.J. Augustin, Kyle Singler and Enes Kanter and got rid of Kendrick Perkins and a disgruntled Reggie Jackson. Then in the offseason, coach Scott Brooks was let go, with former University of Florida coach Billy Donovan taking over the position.
Oklahoma City Thunder 2015 roster: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are healthy and hungry
After a 2014-15 season mired by injury, the Thunder are back at full force and looking for the first championship in franchise history.
Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Now with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka all healthy, the Thunder will reclaim their rightful spot among the West's elite. With Durant's free agency looming, the team's payroll is higher than ever, as front office and ownership realized this might be their best shot at a title. The talent is there for a deep run, even in an ultra competitive conference.
Whether the players can adapt to a new system and new teammates quickly enough to grab a high seed remains to be seen but no one will want to cross paths with the Thunder in the playoffs if they are healthy.
LAST YEAR
RECORD: 45-37 (ninth in the Western Conference)
PLAYOFFS (if applicable): missed
OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY: 104.5 (11th in the league)
DEFENSIVE EFFICIENCY: 103.1 (16th in the league)
ROSTER
No. | PLAYER | POS | HEIGHT | WEIGHT | AGE | COLLEGE |
| 0 | Russell Westbrook | PG | 6'3 | 200 | 26 | UCLA |
| 2 | Anthony Morrow | SG | 6'5 | 210 | 30 | Georgia Tech |
| 3 | Dion Waiters | SG | 6'4 | 225 | 23 | Syracuse |
| 4 | Nick Collison | PF | 6'10 | 255 | 34 | Kansas |
| 5 | Kyle Singler | SF | 6'8 | 228 | 27 | Duke |
| 6 | Steve Novak | F | 6'10 | 225 | 32 | Marquette |
| 9 | Serge Ibaka | PF | 6'10 | 245 | 26 | Rep. of Congo |
| 11 | Enes Kanter | C | 6'11 | 245 | 23 | Kentucky |
| 12 | Steven Adams | C | 7'0 | 255 | 22 | Pittsburgh |
| 14 | D.J. Augustin | PG | 6'0 | 183 | 27 | Texas |
| 21 | Andre Roberson | SG | 6'7 | 210 | 23 | Colorado |
| 22 | Cameron Payne | PG | 6'3 | 185 | 21 | Murray State |
| 33 | Mitch McGary | C | 6'10 | 255 | 23 | Michigan |
| 34 | Josh Huestis | SF | 6'7 | 230 | 23 | Stanford |
| 35 | Kevin Durant | F | 6'9 | 240 | 27 | Texas |
Coach: Billy Donovan
Assistant coaches: Monty Williams, Maurice Cheeks, Anthony Brown, Mark Bryant, Darko Rajakovic
OFFSEASON CHANGES
IN: Billy Donovan (coach), Cameron Payne (draft), Josh Huestis
OUT: Scott Brooks (coach), Jeremy Lamb, Perry Jones
The Thunder made their roster upgrades during the season, making the coaching change the big move of the summer. Scott Brooks leaves the Thunder with a .620 record but with the talent available to him only one trip to the finals wasn’t enough.
Since they are over the tax for the first time in franchise history, the front office got rid of Lamb and Jones to reduce their tax bill and added 2014 and 2015 first-round picks Cameron Payne and Josh Huestis.
DEPTH CHART
POINT GUARD | SHOOTING GUARD | SMALL FORWARD | POWER FORWARD | CENTER | |
STARTER | Russell Westbrook | Andre Roberson | Kevin Durant | Serge Ibaka | Enes Kanter |
RESERVE | D.J. Augustin | Dion Waiters | Kyle Singler | Nick Collison | Steven Adams |
RESERVE | Cameron Payne | Anthony Morrow | Josh Huestis | Steve Novak | Mitch McGary |
RESERVE |
THE KEY QUESTION. What separates this Thunder team from others?
KD and Westbrook are the leaders now. With the departure of faces like Kendrick Perkins and Derek Fisher, it's been up to the Thunder's stars to guide the team. Furthermore, the Thunder are much better from beyond the arc than they used to be.
Most of the Thunder’s big recent acquisition during last season (Waiters, Singler, Augustin, Novak, Kanter, Payne) have decent averages from beyond the arc. During the Thunder’s strong playoff runs in 2012 and 2014, their three-point percentage was middle of the pack. Certainly, this year’s OKC team will rank in the league’s top 10.
- Marina Mangiaracina, Welcome To Loud City. Read the full Thunder season preview here.
PREDICTIONS
BEST CASE: Donovan finally introduces a nuanced offense that maximizes the talents of Westbrook and Durant. Serge Ibaka makes up for Enes Kanter's defensive limitations and the Thunder make it out of the West, win the NBA Finals and lock up Durant to a multi-year contract.
WORST CASE: Lack of familiarity leads to some early losses, the offense continues to rely on Westbrook’s and Durant’s ability to create for themselves and the defense suffers with the addition of Kanter. The Thunder don’t make it past the second round and Durant leaves in the offseason.
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