Oklahoma
OKC Thunder Land No. 2 Spot in NBC Sports’ NBA Power Rankings
On Monday, Kurt Helin of NBC Sports published an updated NBA Power Rankings list, with the Oklahoma City Thunder coming in at No. 2.
Helin’s ranking comes a few months after OKC finished with 57 wins, earned the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and swept the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round of the playoffs. While the Thunder eventually lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the next round, Mark Daigneault’s team should be even better in 2024-25 for a variety of reasons.
Oklahoma City was one of the youngest teams in the NBA last season and should benefit from of internal development over the offseason. Players like Cason Wallace, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and others still have plenty of room left to improve after the 2023-24 campaign and should perform even better with another offseason of work.
Additionally, OKC had almost no playoff experience entering the postseason in 2024, which ended up coming back to haunt the Thunder during its series against Dallas.
Now, the team has played in a hard-fought playoff series and will be better prepared for their matchups in the 2025 postseason.
The biggest differences for Oklahoma City heading into the new season, however, is the team’s roster additions. After a lackluster third year in the Modern Frontier, former No. 6 overall pick Josh Giddey was traded to the Chicago Bulls in return for standout wing Alex Caruso.
Caruso averaged a career-high 10.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.7 steals and one block per game in 2023-24, earning NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors. While the 2020 NBA champion is one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA, he has also developed into a reliable 3-point shooter.
Last season, Caruso shot 40.8% from beyond the arc on 4.7 3-point attempts per game, which should make him a perfect fit for Daigneault’s system.
Alongside Caruso, the Thunder also added free agent center Isaiah Hartenstein over the summer.
Listed at 7-feet tall and 250 pounds, Hartenstein adds size and rebounding prowess that Oklahoma City was lacking on its 2023-24 squad. Hartenstein averaged 7.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks per game with the New York Knicks last year, serving as one of the best role players in the NBA.
With the addition of two talented defenders and passers who also bring other skills to Daigneault’s team, the Thunder should be even better than they were in 2023-24.
The Dallas Mavericks, who also made a few solid offseason additions, came in at No. 3 on NBC Sports’ list.
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The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on the Phoenix Suns in Game 2 of their opening-round series. The OKC Thunder are hoping that they can repeat their Sunday afternoon performance in this contest. Game 2 will be an interesting test with the Suns having more time to prepare.
Phoenix was up against a rock and a hard place in the series opener. The Oklahoma City Thunder not only have the talent advantage but the rest advantage as well. Phoenix punched their ticket to the NBA Playoffs on Friday night by staving off the Golden State Warriors on Friday night before landing in Oklahoma City on Saturday and playing on Saturday afternoon to the tune of a 119-84 blowout Thunder victory.
The NBA has seen plenty of upsets already. The Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers have all stolen games from the higher seed. The Thunder know they have to keep the foot on the gas in this contest.
“These series are unpredictable. No 2 games are the same. The minute you make an assumption, you are overconfident, or the minute you go down and you’re overly urgent, that can impact your ability to be present in the next game,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said pregame on Wednesday night.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are seeing the Suns make an adjustment with their starting lineup by inserting Collin Gillespie to give Phoenix a trio of ball handling scoring options alongside Devin Booker and Jalen Green. This gives the Suns hope to be able to find better shot quality against this stifling Thunder defensive unit.
Oklahoma City is healthier now than they have been all season. The Thunder only are missing rookie Thomas Sorber (ACL) who is out for the year. This allows the Bricktown Ballers to roll out their traditional first five in this contest.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Phoenix Suns, Game 2 Starting Lineup
Oklahoma City Thunder Starting Lineup
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, G
- Lu Dort, G
- Jalen Williams, F
- Chet Holmgren, F
- Isaiah Hartenstein, C
Phoenix Suns Starting Lineup
- Devin Booker, G
- Jalen Green, G
- Collin Gillespie, G
- Dillon Brooks, F
- Oso Ighodaro, C
The series will shift to Phoenix this weekend as the Oklahoma City Thunder hope to head into Saturday afternoon’s Game 3 with a 2-0 advantage in the series.
Stay tuned to Thunder on SI for complete coverage of the NBA Playoff run for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA (KOKH) — The Oklahoma City Fire Department responded to a home fire late Tuesday evening, around 10:42 p.m.
According to OKCFD, fire could be seen from a window of the home located in the 4200 block of N. Phillips Avenue.
Firefighters were able to rescue an adult female from inside the home. No injuries were reported in connection with the fire.
Investigators believe that the fire may have originated from an outlet near the refrigerator that had a power strip plugged in that was supplying multiple appliances.
There was also no smoke detector present within the home.
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NORMAN — The Sooners were behind the eight ball for much of Tuesday’s game against Oral Roberts.
But one swing of the bat got them in a more favorable position.
Shortstop Jaxon Willits blasted a grand slam in the sixth inning to give No. 14 Oklahoma its first lead before eventually winning 7-6.
The Sooners trailed by as many as five runs before they rallied late.
In the first inning, Oral Roberts’ Cooper Combs hit a two-out grand slam to give the Golden Eagles a comfortable cushion. OU infielder Deiten Lachance got the Sooners on the board in the second inning with a solo home run, but ORU responded with a solo shot of its own in the next frame.
The Golden Eagles made it a 6-1 run game in the top of the fourth, and they appeared to be on cruise control. But in the bottom of that frame, OU’s rally began.
Dasan Harris made it a four-run game again with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth before Camden Johnson hit a sacrifice fly of his own in the fifth.
Then, in the sixth, the Sooners took their first lead of the game.
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Harris singled before Kyle Branch and Connor Larkin walked to load the bases. Willits then swung at the first pitch he saw, sending it well over the right-center field fence.
Neither team scored after Willits’ home run, as OU relief pitcher Xander Mercurius retired nine ORU batters in a row to seal the Sooners’ one-run win.
Michael Catalano started on the mound for Oklahoma, but his outing was short-lived — he gave up four earned runs on two hits and five walks in 1 ⅓ innings.
After coach Skip Johnson relieved Catalano in the second inning, six different OU arms entered the game. Reid Hensley collected the win, while Mercurius got the save.
OU improved to 28-12 overall with the win, while Oral Roberts dropped to 23-15. The Sooners are 7-3 in midweek games this season, and they clinched the season sweep of the Golden Eagles on Tuesday.
Next, the Sooners will hit the road for a three-game series against Auburn. The Tigers, ranked No. 11 by D1Baseball, are 10-8 in SEC play and took two of three games against Florida over the weekend.
The series will open on Friday, and first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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