THE Oklahoma City Thunder enter the 2024-25 season as big favorites for the title. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren And Jalen Williams complete one of the best trios in the league. The additions of Isaiah Hartenstein And Alex Caruso strengthen their depth.
This will be the first season where the Thunder have high expectations. They are at the very beginning of a championship window. Gilgeous-Alexander has emerged as one of the best players in the league.
Thunder wire recently simulated the Thunder’s upcoming season in the new NBA 2K25 video game. Thunder fans may have mixed feelings about the final results. Let’s take a look at how OKC’s campaign unfolded as it hopes to contend for a championship:
Balance sheet and ranking
In a case of déjà vu, the Thunder finished with a 57-25 record. The same record as last season. Except this time, it was only good enough for third place. The Timberwolves (66-16) and The Nonconformists (58-24) finished ahead.
The Thunder have been consistent winners all season long. They have only had one three-game losing streak. They went 10-5 in their first 15 games. They then rebounded and went 20-8. They entered the All-Star break with a 37-17 record.
They returned from the locker room with a record of 40-18. This goes against the rule that a true title contender wins 40 games before losing 20. With a record of 49-25, OKC finished the season on an eight-game winning streak to reach 57 wins. They finished with a point differential of plus-8.3. They had a record of 27-14 at home and 30-11 on the road.
Gilgeous-Alexander with another monstrous season
After finishing in the top 5 of the MVPs twice, Gilgeous-Alexander had his best campaign yet. He averaged an impressive 34.7 points on 54.8% shooting. Surprisingly, that wasn’t enough for the scoring title. Instead, Anthony Edwards He claimed it with an exceptional 35.8-point campaign.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished last season with a 98 overall rating. It’s been said in recent years that he can’t score more than 44 points, a career-high, but he can’t go below 30. Well, that changed in this simulation.
Gilgeous-Alexander has set a career-high eight times, including a season-opening 55-point game against the Nuggets. It would be an incredible spectacle if it happened in real life. His new personal best was scoring 70 points against the Magic on November 4.
How do Holmgren and Williams behave?
It wasn’t the huge leap that was hoped for, but Williams and Holmgren took steps in the right direction. Williams was OKC’s second-leading scorer with 21.5 points on 56.1 percent shooting. Holmgren nearly had a double-double averaging 17.5 points and 9.1 rebounds.
Neither has been an All-Star, but those are perfect numbers to produce given their youth. There was little need to ask of them as Gilgeous-Alexander took another step forward this season and became arguably the league’s leading scorer.
Thunder receives contributions from new members
The Thunder’s biggest acquisitions this offseason were two veterans. Hartenstein and Caruso were added as top-six players in OKC’s rotation. While the stats aren’t immediately obvious, they had seasons that complemented the wins.
Caruso averaged 7.5 points and 5.8 assists. Hartenstein averaged 7.4 points and 8.8 rebounds. That’s solid production from two players whose on-court impact can’t be adequately measured with basic stats.
Award Winners
Gilgeous-Alexander was the Thunder’s lone honoree. He was a first-team All-NBA member with Edwards, Luka Doncic, Victor Wembanyama And Nikola JokicThis would be his third consecutive year receiving the honor. Doncic won the 2024-25 MVP award.
Regular Season Statistics
Here are notable stats from the season for OKC’s key rotation players:
Gilgeous-Alexandre: 34.7 points – 6.5 rebounds – 7.3 assists – 54.8% shooting – 36.2% 3-point shooting – 92.9% free throw shooting – 2.1 steals
Williams: 21.5 points – 6.4 rebounds – 4.5 assists – 56.1% shooting – 43.2% 3-point shooting – 79.1% free throws – 1.2 steals
Holmgren: 17.5 points – 9.1 rebounds – 1.1 assists – 47.6% shooting – 35.8% 3-point shooting – 88.4% free throw shooting – 1.8 blocks
Sleep: 8.6 points – 3.3 rebounds – 2.7 assists – 42.8% shooting – 32.6% 3-point shooting – 80.8% free throws – 1.2 steals
Caruso: 7.5 points – 3.2 rebounds – 5.8 assists – 38.9% shooting – 35.2% 3-point shooting – 78.3% free throws – 1.6 steals
Hartenstein: 7.4 points – 8.8 rebounds – 1.5 assists – 63.1% shooting – 50% 3-point shooting – 58.8% free throws – 1 block – 1 steal
Wiggins: 9.7 points – 3.2 rebounds – 1.6 assists – 47.1% shooting – 38.8% 3-point shooting – 74% free throw shooting
Joe: 10.7 points – 2.7 rebounds – 3 assists – 44.2% shooting – 40.8% 3-point shooting – 81.4% free throw shooting
Wallace: 7.1 points – 1.5 rebounds – 1.9 assists – 51.1% shooting – 44.6% 3-point shooting – 77.4% free throw shooting
Playoff standings
Here are the final NBA playoff standings. The West is pretty realistic. Meanwhile, the East is a complete 2K farce:
West:
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1. Timberwolves (66-16)
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2. Mavericks (58-24)
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3. Thunder (57-25)
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4. Spurs (53-29)
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5. Kings (50-32)
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6. Nuggets (46-36)
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7. Warriors (42-40)
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8. Lawnmowers (40-42)
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9. Lakers (38-44)
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10. Rockets (36-46)
East:
How will the Thunder fare in the 2025 playoffs?
The first-round series won’t be a picnic for the Thunder. They open the playoffs against the Nuggets, who have arguably the best player on the court in three-time MVP winner Jokic. It will be a real test for OKC as the third seed and could be a symbolic passing of the torch between two Western powers.
The game lived up to expectations. The series went down to the wire, with OKC hosting a Game 7. A surprising development considering the Nuggets took a 3-1 series lead. It seemed like the veteran team still had one last point to play for. The Thunder were facing the possibility of being eliminated in the first round. That would have been an extremely disappointing outcome.
Instead, the Thunder reeled off three straight wins to complete their comeback. The Game 7 victory came down to the final seconds, with OKC winning by a narrow 127-125 margin. Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams combined for 62 points.
After such a stressful series, the Thunder have no time to catch their breath. They will face the Mavericks in the second round for a rematch of the 2024 NBA playoffs. This time, Dallas has the home advantage. So how did this second game go? Unfortunately, it was pretty similar to last year.
The Thunder forced another Game 7 but were defeated by the Mavericks. Both teams had managed at home in the first four games. The Thunder crushed the Mavericks on the road in Game 5 to take a comfortable 3-2 series lead.
With two tries, the Thunder failed to defeat the Mavericks. Both losses were by a single point, nine and one. Game 7 was a heartbreaking 124-123 loss. Doncic took a step forward with a monstrous 46-point outing while Gilgeous-Alexander faltered with just 22 points.
2025 NBA Playoffs Remainder
The Mavericks and Timberwolves faced off in a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Finals. This time, the Timberwolves won in six games. In the East, the Knicks swept the Raptors to reach the 2025 NBA Finals. Minnesota He dominated and swept New York. Edwards won the Finals MVP award and gave the Timberwolves their first championship title in franchise history.
This article was originally published on OKC Thunder Wire: NBA 2K25 Simulation: How Will OKC Thunder Perform in the 2024-25 Season?