Looking Into 2024-25 OKC Thunder's Playoff Scoring Profile, Part Three: 3-Point Scoring

The 2024-25 Oklahoma City Thunder churned out 2-point baskets throughout its championship run. The Thunder showed off elite volume in the restricted area, alongside above-average volume and efficiency on mid-range shots.

However, after a regular season in which it shot 37.4% on 3-pointers (No. 6 in NBA), Oklahoma City shot 33.8% from downtown during the postseason — the fourth-worst mark among playoff teams. The No. 14 Detroit Pistons (32.4%), No. 15 Memphis Grizzlies (30.4%) and No. 16 Orlando Magic (26.3%) all lost in the first round, winning just three of their 15 combined games.

The playoff Thunder shot 35.0 threes per game (No. 8 in NBA) and averaged 11.8 makes (No. 11 in NBA). Its 3-point percentage fell below the average by 1.6%, since all 16 teams shot 2,090-for-5,097 from beyond the arc. Make no mistake: The Thunder stood out negatively from previous modern-era champions.

The No. 1 overall seed's struggles were even more atypical because it is an extremely selective shooting team. Oklahoma City attempted 94.4% of its 3-pointers on open or wide-open looks, meaning when the nearest defender was at least four feet away.

Eight Thunder players averaged at least 2.5 outside attempts during the playoffs, with just three of them shooting above 35%. Luguentz Dort and Alex Caruso, two of the NBA's best perimeter defenders, recorded the most 3-point volume among Thunder role players and made more triples than everyone else on the roster. They combined to shoot 85-for-230 (37.0%) from deep, making 3.7 threes per game.

The Thunder's three best players ultimately caused its 3-point nightmare. Jalen Williams (30.4%), Chet Holmgren (29.7%) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (28.3%) each regressed at least 6.1% from their regular-season percentages — a major, major problem because of their shot distribution.

Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and Holmgren were Oklahoma City's three leading scorers — in that order — during the 2023-24 regular season, 2024 playoffs, 2024-25 regular season and 2025 playoffs. The Thunder has skyrocketed to unthinkable heights with that hierarchy.

However, they registered the worst playoff 3-point volume AND percentage among the last 10 championship trios.

The 2019-20 Los Angeles Lakers, the previous volume low, tallied elite restricted-area volume and efficiency thanks to LeBron James and Anthony Davis. That also applied to the 2020-21 Bucks, the previous efficiency low. They possessed a game-breaker, but non-shooter, Giannis Antetokounmpo.

To sum things up, the Thunder's three leading scorers posted the third-worst rim percentage, fourth-worst mid-range percentage and worst 3-point percentage in the last decade.

Effective field goal percentage is an efficiency metric that weights 3-pointers correctly, as made threes are worth 50% more than made twos. The formula: (FGM + 0.5 * 3PM) / FGA.

Throughout the 2025 playoffs, teams thrived in the restricted area (65.2% effective field goal percentage), shot 3-pointers well (53.1%) and settled for mid-range shots last (42.6%).

Eight of the last 10 championship trios recorded a playoff effective field goal percentage above the seasonal league average. Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and Holmgren, who together averaged 50.5 points from the field, were a whopping 3.0% below average. They were the last decade's only threesome who did not eclipse one point per shot attempt.

Oklahoma City suffered just two last-second home losses, never lost back-to-back playoff games and won the championship despite woeful team shooting from downtown and horrific field-goal efficiency from its stars.

Time will tell whether the Thunder's poor playoff 3-point percentage is a feature of the defense-slanted lineups or a bug with viable pathways to improvement.