The Oklahoma City Thunder all but assured their presence in the National Championship game with their 128-126 victory over the Timberwolves in Minnesota Monday night. Needing just one more win over the next three games to clinch the Western Conference, the Thunder have nearly reached the mountain, so how did they do it? They used the NBA 2K model.
They leveraged an aging star (Paul George) and a crappy season (2021) for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (traded for George), Chet Holmgren (picked sixth overall with their pick), and Jalen Williams (picked 12th overall with a pick received in the George trade). It’s a move that comes straight out of the franchise-mode rebuilding playbook! They built their big three in one offseason and have been adding new support pieces ever since.
