College Coaching Legend Offers High Praise for OKC Thunder

Oklahoma City has received the biggest possible spotlight in the NBA playoffs. For the lack of national exposure this team has received over the last few years, the airtime has been unmatched during the postseason. All eyes are on the Thunder.

And with the world watching, Oklahoma City has shone off its identity with flying colors over the last two months. That’s why the shock factor was so big from casual fans, seeing the Thunder’s physicality on display for the first time. Oklahoma City has continued to play a chaotic style of defense that forces turnovers and applies serious pressure — and nobody has an answer for it. It feels like we’ve never seen an NBA defense operate quite like this one.

College coaches are chiming in now, including legendary Hall of Famer Rick Pitino. Pitino operated one of the best defenses in college basketball this past season at St. John, and led his squad to a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. It turns out he and his staff were watching a lot of Thunder film during preparation throughout the week.

“It's interesting, in my 40+ years (of coaching) I've never shown clips to my teams of NBA defense,” Pitino wrote. “Offensive sets and individual moves, but never defense. Until this past season. We watched the Thunder at least 3x a week. Their switching, loading up to help, and rotations are awesome. And they are still so young!”

Pitino is right, this defense is simply different for the NBA. Many NBA teams over the last decade have had a handful of go-to scorers, multiple guys across the roster that could heat up and get going on any given night. This Thunder team has the same, but for defenders. Alex Caruso, Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams — take your pick from Oklahoma City's go-to defenders.