5 Most Interesting Lineups for OKC Thunder This Season

5 Most Interesting Lineups for the Oklahoma City Thunder Thunder

Lineup No. 1

• Nikola Topic
• Cason Wallace
• Jalen Williams
• Aaron Wiggins
• Thomas Sorber

Topic is the most interesting new name to watch this season for the Oklahoma City Thunder. His playmaking can serve as a lifeblood for the Bricktown ballers, who saw its offense stall at times last postseason. There are plenty of questions around how he can stay on the floor in an off-ball role offensively and if he can be a serviceable defender. This lineup gives the rookie the best of both worlds to get his feet wet in the NBA.

Sure, he will have to play off Williams at times, but the Santa Clara product also thrives in an off-ball role to let Topic get comfortable creating for Oklahoma City. Defensively, he is flanked on the outside by Wallace and Williams, two All-Defensive caliber players, while also not coddled with question marks around Wiggins' ability down low and t he rookie big man, who was a high-end defender in college but needs to translate that to the NBA level. With Wiggins' inclusion, they can also try to have Topic defend as the low man and the Maryland product shift to the outside where he is more comfortable in space.

If Wallace and Williams return to form from beyond the arc alongside Wiggins, this also gives Topic plenty of space to operate and get downhill to set up his teammates and develop a two-man game with Sorber, who should be lethal at the rim and in the midrange out of the pick-and-roll.

Lineup No. 2

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
• Cason Wallace
• Lu Dort
• Jalen Williams
• Chet Holmgren

This might end up being the team's best lineup, and if I had to hitch my horse to one wagon, it wo uld be this five-man group.

Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams overdosed the Pacers on a lethal two-man game with guard-to-guard screening actions, getting the Oklahoma City offense buckets at will in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Seeing that aspect of their game grow over the course of this season, with Wallace's elite-level cutting, Holmgren's floor spacing and Dort's 3-and-D archetype will be a lot of fun.

Lineup No. 3

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
• Lu Dort
• Aaron Wiggins
• Chet Holmgren
• Isaiah Hartenstein

The double-big lineup has been over-examined since it debuted last February, and that will continue this season. With everyone expecting a step forw ard offensively from Holmgren, and the natural shot creation from Aaron Wiggins, mixed with the NBA's scoring champ, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, you get a very fun offensive group. Allowing Wiggins to defend from the small forward spot has proven to make him better on that end.

Dort's lockdown defense and 3-point shooting would serve as a glue-guy for this unit alongside Holmgren's floor spacing ability as Hartenstein clears the way for Gilgeous-Alexander with wipeout screens.

Lineup No. 4

• Jalen Williams
• Isaiah Joe
• Cason Wallace
• Aaron Wiggins
• Isaiah Hartenstein

The Santa Clara product was an All-Star, All-NBA and All-Defensive player a year ago with still room to grow. Having him in a lineup to run the show has already proven to be Oklahoma City's best bet with the secondary un it. When he is fully healthy from his wrist injury and with his improved downhill talent, he flashed in the postseason to get to the free throw line, this can be a group that allows Williams to post gaudy numbers.

Joe will space the floor while Wallace's major year-three question is from distance. The Kentucky product saw a seven percentage point dip from 3-point land a year ago, and in this lineup, he needs to get back on track from beyond the arc. This unit also lets him continue to develop off the catch and even initiate some actions.

Hartenstein has been a tremendous two-man partner with Williams, both as a screen setter and high-post playmaker. Getting these two isolated on the floor together should be a priority for Oklahoma City. His defense e levates this secondary unit in a big way.

Wiggins helping Williams create offense will be fun to watch, as the Maryland product has proven to collect buckets at the NBA level throughout his career. Though he will be under the microscope on the defensive side of the floor, his ability to scale up on that end will be the difference maker in his ability to play a large chunk of minutes in the postseason.

Lineup No. 5

• Nikola Topic
• Isaiah Joe
• Lu Dort
• Aaron Wiggins
• Chet Holmgren

Topic is going to be must-watch as a rookie. Flanking him with the floor spacing of Joe, Dort and Holmgren with the shot creation of Wiggins should mix well on the offensive side of the floor. This group would also stress-test Topic and Wiggins defens ively.

With Holmgren as an elite rim protector and Dort being a lockdown point-of-attack stopper, Topic should be protected enough to stay on the floor. If he isn't, that reveals a lot about the Thunder's year one plans with the rookie.

So far, Wiggins has admitted he still isn't comfortable scaling up to defend bigger bodies. That is the last piece of the puzzle needed for the Maryland product to make a big postseason impact. Seeing how he progresses against power forwards on the defensive end will be key throughout this season.

Honorable Mention Lineup:

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
• Lu Dort
• Jalen Williams
• Chet Holmgren
• Isaiah Hartenstein

This is a lineup that Daigneault heavily featured since Feb. 7 when Holmgren returned from a hip fracture and it remained Oklahoma City's starting five until the NBA Finals when the Thunder shook things up during its series with the Indiana Pacers.

This group made strides defensively, but it took time to find its offensive groove, partly because Holmgren's return from injury affected his 3-point shot. With this upcoming season, the Gonzaga product hopes to be back on track from beyond the arc with an ultra-high ceiling on that end of the floor.

With Holmgren's expected leap offensively, this could overhaul an already good unit, but will it be the staple starting lineup for Daigneault again this year? It will be interesting to watch unfold.