OKC Thunder Player Power Rankings: Stacking Up the Full Roster in December
The Oklahoma City Thunder are still waiting for rookie Mitch McGary to make his NBA debut, but with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook back in action, the Thunder are basically at full strength. Consequently, it’s a good time to take stock of how every player has performed this season, and there’s no better way to do that than by creating some good ol’ power rankings.
For Durant, the one-game sample size doesn’t lend itself to much in the form of evaluation, but we can be fairly confident that the reigning MVP is the best player on the roster. After him, there have been some pleasant surprises, such as the stellar performances of Reggie Jackson and Perry Jones III.
Unfortunately, there have also been some minor disappointments too. Both Serge Ibaka and Steven Adams have been less impressive than expected. By no means have they been bad, but it would be nice to see more signs of growth—for Ibaka especially.
As per usual, the Thunder are loaded at the top of their roster, but it will be the depth that determines how far this team goes. Every player on the roster that has played a game will be discussed, and the rankings are based only on this season’s performance (the only exception being Durant because it seems morally wrong to place him anywhere but No. 1).
Nos. 11-14
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14. Grant Jerrett: 1 G, 9.0 MIN, 3.0 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 1.0 APG, -7.1 PER
Jerrett has played in one game, so he makes the list, but he is clearly the worst player on the roster. That sounds harsh, but we haven’t seen enough from him to put him ahead of any of his teammates.
13. Ish Smith: 4.9 MIN, 1.4 PPG, 0.5 APG, 9.3 PER
Ish Smith was signed as a capable body when the Thunder were dealing with eight injuries, and he played solid ball in limited minutes during that time. With a full squad, however, he hasn’t cracked the rotation.
12. Lance Thomas: 24.4 MIN, 6.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 6.9 PER
Thomas has received plenty of playing time thanks to all the injuries, but that’s been entirely out of necessity. He has shot the ball at a poor 35 percent clip and really struggled on offense but has been a valuable contributor in times of need.
11. Nick Collison: 18.8 MIN, 4.5 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 1.4 APG, 8.2 PER
It’s been a relatively rough start to the season for Collison, as he’s struggled to find his rhythm en route to shooting 37 percent from the field. On the bright side, he’s shown the ability to knock down some threes, and he’s been a steadying presence off the bench. He will probably rise up these rankings once he gets easier shots and his efficiency rises, but for now, Collison is languishing outside the top 10.
10. Andre Roberson
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Stats: 24.9 MIN, 4.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.9 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 9.0 PER
The numbers aren’t particularly glamorous, but Andre Roberson has looked very good at times, and he’s been excellent defensively. With all the early injuries, he was forced to take on more of the offensive load, and he struggled in that role—largely due to a still-broken shot (6.7 percent from three).
Despite that limitation, Roberson has shown the ability to get to the rim and finish, and his all-around effort has been enjoyable to watch. After not seeing him last year, his play has been a subtle bright spot in what’s been a cloudy OKC season so far.
His jumper still needs a lot of work, but he’s shown that he can do something offensively, and that side of the floor is going to open up with Durant and Westbrook back in the mix.
9. Kendrick Perkins
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Stats: 20.2 MIN, 4.8 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 0.8 BPG, 9.4 PER
Kendrick Perkins is a magnet for criticism, but he’s been solid so far this season and has looked lighter and more mobile than in previous years. Despite losing his starting spot to Steven Adams, Perkins has carved out a role as a defensive leader off the bench, and all of the above stats are an improvement from last season.
He’s also shooting a better percentage from the floor, and that number stands a good chance of increasing with the high-quality looks that he’s sure to get with the stars back.
Not every veteran (particularly those with championship experience) would have handled such a demotion so well, and you have to give Perkins a ton of credit for that. His value is still very limited and matchup-dependent, but he’s been better than Collison so far, and that’s a real surprise.
8. Anthony Morrow
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Stats: 28.2 MIN, 11.4 PPG (40.4% 3P), 3.3 RPG, 1.1 SPG, 12.8 PER
Anthony Morrow has been as advertised from beyond the arc. He’s knocking down 40 percent of his three-point attempts, which is good for 22nd in the league of all players who have taken at least 50 threes so far this season.
He burst onto the scene by dropping 28 points on 69 percent shooting in his second game for the Thunder, but he has since cooled off, topping the 15-point mark only once since that point. That’s not a huge concern since OKC signed him mostly to be a spot-up shooter to space the floor.
One positive has been the effort he’s exerted defensively. He’s still a liability, but he’s expending more energy on that side of the ball than we’ve seen from him in the past. With a healthy Durant and Westbrook, Morrow can return to the role for which he is best-suited: long-range gunner. He’s already shown the ability to take over games with his shooting, so it’s been an unspectacular but solid start to his OKC tenure.
7. Steven Adams
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Stats: 26.1 MIN, 7.7 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 1.2 BPG, 11.9 PER
If you listen very carefully, you’ll hear the cheer of Thunder fans still reverberating since OKC announced that Steven Adams was going to replace Perkins in the starting lineup.
I singled out Adams as a “minor disappointment” on the intro slide, but that’s mostly because I hoped to see more from him offensively and it hasn’t materialized yet. In reality, that’s just nit-picking. Adams still has a lot of development left, but he’s been a physical presence on the glass, and he’s looked aware of his defensive assignments and rotations.
The offensive improvement will come with Durant and Westbrook, but it would be nice to see more consistency from Adams. The criticisms are relatively minor, but he can’t rise up the list unless he improves his play (or somebody else falls off).
6. Perry Jones III
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Stats: 5 G, 32.8 MIN, 15.0 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 11.6 PER
It’s extremely unfortunate that Perry Jones got hurt because he was playing so well before the injury, scoring 32, 20 and 16 points in his last three games (excluding the 18 minutes he played in Toronto before he hurt his knee).
Jones built on a solid 2013-14 season and emerged as a potential scorer off the bench and one of the few Thunder players who can play both sides of the ball.
His role will certainly be limited with Durant suited up, but he’s a very talented young player who has played well. Purely based on his numbers and performance, I would want to slot him in at No. 5, but it’s hard to read too much in the three-game streak. As such, it’s another player who cracks the top five.
5. Jeremy Lamb
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Stats: 26.4 MIN, 12.2 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.2 SPG, 16.3 PER
Those are some exciting numbers to see for Jeremy Lamb. His talent has never been in question, but he’s starting to contribute in multiple phases of the game, and those rebounding numbers in particular are promising.
It would be nice to see more consistency from him, as he’s suffered through some cold shooting nights, but he’s still managed to compile some favorable numbers.
Lamb has looked more comfortable with the ball in his hands, but the key will be to maintain effectiveness throughout the season. He started well last year, but he faded over the second half of the season. For now, he’s clearly in the top five, but that spot is subject to change depending on his season-long performance.
4. Serge Ibaka
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Stats: 33.2 MIN, 15.2 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 2.1 BPG, 15.3 PER
Much like Adams, Serge Ibaka has not been bad, but it was a little disappointing to see that he couldn’t create any offense for himself without Westbrook and Durant. His rebounds and blocks are down, but now he can focus on the defensive end, so you would expect those numbers to increase slightly.
One major development for Ibaka has been the emergence of his three-point shot. He’s currently taking four threes per game, and he has become the most devastating stretch 4 in the game by knocking down 36 percent of his attempts.
His rim protection is still invaluable, so he would be third on this list (and maybe even second) if it were based on the most valuable Thunder players. Nevertheless, he’s been worse than No. 3 on this list.
3. Reggie Jackson
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Stats: 37.9 MIN, 19.3 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 7.3 APG, 1.0 SPG, 17.8 PER
Reggie Jackson has been outstanding this season. Though it didn’t lead to many wins, he was tremendous as the focal point after Westbrook went down, and he capitalized on the situation. His all-around game has developed nicely, and he’s shown good instincts as a facilitator.
It will be interesting to watch how Durant and Westbrook’s return affects his production. Obviously, the numbers will fall a little, but he could still be such an offensive game-changer. As a restricted free agent this summer, Jackson’s play has likely earned him a significant raise, and it remains to be seen whether there will be many suitors given the depth of the position around the league.
While he’s still in the OKC, however, he’s been the third-best player on the team.
2. Russell Westbrook
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Stats: 24.5 MIN, 23.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 6.3 APG, 35.3 PER
Westbrook has been absolutely ridiculous to start the season, scoring 93 points in 98 minutes. He’s shooting the ball relatively well and is connecting on an unsustainable 46 percent of his three-point attempts. The more interesting stat there is that he’s taking fewer than three treys per game, something he hasn’t done in three seasons.
The turnovers are still an issue, as his assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.7 is unacceptable, but it’s been a solid start to the season for Westbrook, who continues to defy all logic by showing barely any signs of rust.
He looks completely healthy and is ready to regain his role as the emotional leader for OKC. On almost any other team, he’s No. 1 in these power rankings. Unfortunately for him, there’s another superstar in town.
1. Kevin Durant
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Stats: 1 G, 30 MIN, 27 PPG, 3 RPG, 2 APG, 22.5 PER
It’s only been one game, but scoring 27 points in your return from injury is mighty impressive. Kevin Durant can roll out of bed and drain shots, and that was evident against the New Orleans Pelicans. There were some signs of rust and his ball-handling was unusually sloppy, but the most important sign was that he didn’t appear to be physically limited at all.
The numbers will improve, and he’ll attempt to put this team on his back and carry it to the postseason.
Even though it’s only been one game, I have no qualms about putting him at No. 1 in these rankings. The guy can just do it all, and he’s an unstoppable force of nature on offense. Getting him back so early was a huge boost, and now OKC can start to get its season back on track.
Note: All stats and Player Efficiency Ratings (PER) are courtesy of ESPN.com and are accurate as of Dec. 5.
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