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Why OKC Thunder assists rising to franchise historical rates shows this team is different
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- Why OKC Thunder assists rising to franchise historical rates shows this team is different
With every new era comes the moments that summon the old days. A fleeting scene that is so familiar — or so drastically different — that it instantly plants you back 10 years.
In Oklahoma City , those moments stem from the season-long time lapse of the Thunder's newest Big Three. Their maturation. Their evolution. Or the moments in which this team clearly establishes a different identity than its predecessors.
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With Wednesday's 36-assist performance in a win over Miami , the Thunder set a franchise record for the most 30-assist games in a season with 12. It took 36 games. The next game, Thursday's historical thrashing of the Portland Trail Blazers , saw OKC dish out a franchise-tying 41 assists and continue to rewrite history.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault can't hear those numbers without spitting context back at them. Every game is different, every team is different. The 38-year-old is the kind of coach that wouldn't reference Michael Jordan's flu game without citing what bacteria is most detrimental to performance. That wouldn't prop his team up as one of the most connected, talented passing squads in the franchise's young history without prefacing it with context of the things outside its reach that maybe helped.
"You have to have a contextual awareness of what's going on in the NBA right now," Daigneault said Thursday. "The pace is higher than it's ever been, the scoring is higher than it's ever been. There's multiple teams every year breaking scoring records in terms of efficiency. Some of it's that."
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Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) passes the ball around Portland Trail Blazers forward Kris Murray (8) during an NBA basketball game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Portland Trail Blazers at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. Oklahoma City won 139-77.
Some of it is what he later alluded to but might not ever admit. This young Thunder squad has put together a season that, stylistically, deserves some due for how it's separated itself from previous eras of Thunder basketball.
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It's well documented that the scoring and pace is on an uptick in the modern era. But it's not so distant from previous teams that the Thunder's newfound record belongs mostly to the era it plays in.
Of the top 20 teams with the most 30-assist games in a single season, only four of them came after 2000 — all part of the ever-imitated but hardly duplicated Golden State Warrior dynasty that won four NBA titles.
Some context Daigneault would appreciate: Quite a few of the teams in the top 20 belonged to the Showtime Era Lakers, whose flashy style and generosity, highlighted by Magic Johnson, mostly stood alone stylistically in their era. They hold the all-time record with 52 games of 30-plus assists.
But there were plenty others then.
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Push the criteria to the top 40 seasons with the most 30-assist games, only two more belong to modern teams — another Warriors group and last year's NBA champion Denver Nuggets . They finished with 39 such games.
In total, there have been 496 teams in NBA history with at least 12 such games. The Thunder, while 16-years-young, just birthed its first one this week. The SuperSonics did it 13 times. Church league stud and Soul Glo inspiration Michael Cage was part of a few of those.
Part of the mind-boggling stat is probably an indictment on the Kevin Durant -Russell Westbrook era. The isolation ball. The deployment of space-eaters. The wish for a sufficient secondary, even tertiary playmaker that died with Durant's departure.
It's tough to argue with the results. Deep playoff runs, years of relative success. Durant was an isolation angel, and Westbrook left his mark on the game as one of the greatest athletes ever and a walking triple-double.
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Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) and guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) celebrate beside Portland forward Jerami Grant (9) after Holmgren made a basket and was fouled Thursday night at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
But the contrast might be why people have faith in these young Thunder. Beyond its ridiculous youth. Or the promise shown from players yet to hit their primes. Aesthetically, OKC has produced offense that looks like Sade sings. Smooth. Soothing. Possessing ball movement as fluid as the singer's velvety runs.
"Within that, we do have a team that's unselfish and making the right play," Daigneault said. "Some of our best passing is happening in the non-assists. The early passes up the floor. If we don't have anything, we're getting the ball turned to the other side. Those are the invisible passes that really help the offense."
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OKC's young stars have made it a point to accentuate one another as opposed to watching each other be great at a standstill.
Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren 's frontal lobes have seemingly been tied by the nerves this week. After months of floor time, trusted to open second and fourth quarters, Williams knows where Holmgren likes the ball and how to get it there. Holmgren knows exactly where to be.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander , still a developing facilitator, is averaging a career-high 6.3 assists and has shown an understanding of when he and Williams should play off one another. This town is big enough for two deadly midrange shooters.
Even OKC's surrounding connective role players, while not complete, have developed an understanding of where to be and how to compliment them. Josh Giddey , who is far from perfect, has found his spots in recent games. Isaiah Joe , a world-class shooter, has found the slits in a defense that he can fit between to relieve pressure off of SGA.
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The trail looks that have helped boost Holmgren's start. The effortless no-look dimes to cutters. All of it has blended together to become more than a trend.
"They trust one another," Daigneault said. "They trust what we're doing."
Daigneault can only trust that the season his group is putting together is quickly becoming something definitive of a new era for the Thunder.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder assists at new level behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander & Co.
