As the Boston Celtics cement themselves among the league’s perennial contenders with a revamped roster that builds on the squad that carried the team to within two wins of an NBA-record 18th title, the Celtics find themselves increasingly used as a point of reference for teams on the come-up trying to get themselves to a similar position.
And such is the case for the Oklahoma City Thunder, players for whom see some of the Celtics’ path to competing at the league’s highest levels as a journey they may soon take as well. Flush with playmaking wings of which he himself is one, the Thunder’s Josh Giddey explained to our Cameron Tabatabaie how he and fellow wing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander might take a page from Boston’s book in the near-term future.
“In the same context of having me and Shai together as ball handlers, it’s never a natural fit,” explained the Australian wing.
While much of what holds OKC back is simply the relative youth and inexperience of their rebuilding roster. But Giddey is not wrong to note that some of the process of transforming individual greatness into team success can be seen in what Boston accomplished last season.
“I think Brown and Tatum are an example where, it’s not going to click from day one, and it’s not going to be 100% from day one, those things take time. And you look at them as one of the best duos in the league now, and with me and Shai, pretty ball-dominant players, learning to find ways to play off of each other.”
“I think as the seasons went on, we’ve got better and better at that,” he suggested.
With all of the assets stockpiled by Thunder GM Sam Presti and the growing number of rising prospects already on the roster, that Celtics-esque transformation referenced by Giddey may well be closer than some think.
If Presti decides to pull the trigger on a move to accelerate the team’s rebuild this season or next, the example set by Tatum and Brown could very well be giving those players and the rest of Boston’s roster a headache if successfully replicated by Gilgeous-Alexander and Giddey.
This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire.
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