How Team Health Bolstered 2023-24 OKC Thunder Success

The Thunder won four of their five 2024 preseason contests, including all four that ended in regulation, but this success was overshadowed by recent injury news — Isaiah Hartenstein will miss at least the next five to six weeks with a non-displaced hand fracture.

Frontcourt depth had already been a considerable issue for the team, as Jaylin Williams' hamstring strain and Kenrich Williams' mid-September knee surgery kept them from experiencing any preseason action. Jalen Williams is day-to-day after rolling his ankle in Oklahoma City's preseason finale against the Atlanta Hawks. Even rookie guard Nikola Topić will miss the entire season to recover from ACL surgery.

These injuries just before the regular season exemplify a drastic shift from the 2023-24 season. The Thunder's 61 total games missed due to injury, 133 total days missed due to injury and $8,771,534 lost from player injury days were all the lowest marks in the league, reflecting their overall health.

The Thunder were blessed with injury luck throughout the roster, but they could not have won 57 games without their top guys. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City's three best players last year according to LEBRON wins above replacement, missed a combined 18 games.

Oklahoma City won just two of their seven games without Most Valuable Player runner-up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, being outscored by 33 total points. The Thunder were 11 points per 100 possessions better with Gilgeous-Alexander on the floor last year, making his relative lack of missed games instrumental in achieving the best Western Conference record.

This trend does not only apply to the Thunder. Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jalen Brunson — who rounded out the top five in last season's MVP voting — combined for a 195-104 record (65.2% winning percentage), but their teams went 11-18 (37.9% winning percentage) when they did not play. The Philadelphia 76ers went 31-8 (79.5% winning percentage) with reigning MVP Joel Embiid but just 16-27 (37.2% winning percentage) without him.

The Thunder went 1-3 in a four-game stretch at the beginning of April without Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, including a 35-point blowout in Boston against the eventual champion Celtics.

Although Oklahoma City has concluded their preseason with untimely injuries, their 2024-25 goals depend most on Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Holmgren staying healthy — which is the case for now.