Dec 23, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) celebrates with forward Jaylin Williams (6) after a basket against the Washington Wizards during the second quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

How The OKC Thunder's Previous Offseason Elevated Focus For This Year's Offseason

Originally posted on Oklahoma City Thunder on SI
By Nate Aker | Last updated Sep 16, 2025 3:00 PM ET

The 2023-24 Oklahoma City Thunder were dangerous as is, the year prior to the team winning its first NBA title. Finishing atop the Western Conference with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander coming into his elite shape alongside plenty of other young, dangerous talents, the Thunder appeared to be the real deal.

Closing out the regular season with a 57-25 record—sharing that number with the Denver Nuggets but beating them out of first place with the tiebreaker—Oklahoma City entered the postseason with its first no. 1 seed in the conference since the 2012-13 season (and just the second time in franchise history).

Everything looked up. The Thunder went and beat the New Orleans Pelicans in a first-round sweep. Offense was humming, defense appeared to be of the best in the league—but something that needed glaring improvement was the team's interior force, paired with the fact that none of its starting five had any extensive playoff experience.

Those two faults ultimately caught up to them in the second round. Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and, arguably the most impactful, P.J. Washington, Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford, the fifth-seeded Dallas Mavericks exposed the two Thunder weaknesses. Dallas would eventually end Oklahoma City's season in six games, sending the Thunder home with clear issues needed to be resolved by Sam Presti.

And to no surprise to anyone, he did exactly that—targeting both Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso in the offseason, securing both and bolstering the Thunder lineup directly addressing the team's pain points. We all know what happened the next season as Oklahoma City hoisted up its first Larry O'Brien trophy, and large thanks to the defensive stalwart Caruso and interior enforcer Hartenstein.

These two made this team feel complete, like there weren't many weak links left to tackle. Improvements can still certainly be made to the quality of play by this young team, but all the talent is there, and it's cohesive.

That feeling echoed throughout last season. It was then validated by that championship. It made Presti and the Thunder organization's offseason a lot less stressful, as all Presti had to look forward to was drafting 15th pick Thomas Sorber and 44th pick Brooks Barnhizer—and certainly getting Nikola Topic cleared from injury.

For him and the rest of the team, this is about as close as you get to having the exact same team as you did from the year prior. It allows your guys to build upon chemistry without any new skill sets or personalities to acclimate to the team culture.

And luckily for the Thunder, last year's team was one that won it all.

This article first appeared on Oklahoma City Thunder on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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