The Oklahoma City Thunder were one of the youngest rosters in the league during the 2021-22 regular season. The team also dealt with a high amount of injuries to finish out the season and were forced to play a lot of G League talent in the final weeks worth of games.
These circumstances would lead one to reasonably conclude that the Thunder were near the bottom in almost every team statistical category that matters, which turned out to be the case. The Thunder finished the season with a bottom-four record at 24-58. Let’s take a look at some of the more noteworthy team stats and try to provide some context with them just
Offensive Rating: 30th (103.8)
The Thunder being dead last in the league in offensive rating should not shock most. Throughout the season, it was evident that — despite being aesthetically pleasing to watch at times — the offense struggled big time.
The Thunder were constantly one of the worst offenses in the league throughout each month of the season, with just a 111.8 points scored per 100 possessions peak in March. This would’ve ranked the Thunder just 17th overall in the league for the entire season.
This should not discourage fans of the individual brilliance of players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey, who showed the capability of being franchise players throughout various games in the season. This stat mostly has to do with the fact that the Thunder had a super young team that dealt with instability in the rotation due to injuries.
Defensive Rating: 17th (111.7)
The defensive rating of the Thunder can be split into two segments of the season: before the All-Star break and after.
Before the All-Star break, the Thunder were the eighth-best defensive team in the league as they allowed just 108.6 points per 100 possessions. The Thunder, led by head coach Mark Daigneault, showed their pride on the defensive end as the team played a smart defensive system that…
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