During the critical final minute of Game 3 in the first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies, Alex Caruso demonstrated defensive prowess by stripping the ball from guard Scotty Pippen Jr.
Trailing by three points and down 2-0 in the series, the Grizzlies were desperate for a quality shot, especially after watching their significant 29-point lead vanish. With Ja Morant sidelined due to injury, Memphis`s offense struggled considerably.
Memphis guard Desmond Bane couldn`t find an opening, pressured by Luguentz Dort on a high pick-and-roll and Chet Holmgren hedging. Bane`s slightly off-target pass to Pippen allowed Caruso time to recover from his help position. Pippen was trapped, and his jab step exposed the ball, enabling Caruso to rip it away as Dort also closed in.
This defensive effort from the Thunder essentially sealed the game, as Oklahoma City`s stifling defense prevented the Grizzlies from recovering.
The Thunder delivered a defensive masterclass in the second half, executing the second-largest comeback in NBA playoff history.
Memphis succumbed to the pressure from the league`s top-ranked defense, finding it incredibly difficult to even attempt shots. In the second half, the Grizzlies committed more turnovers (13) than they made field goals (9-of-36 shooting).
“Our defense is our superpower,” Caruso stated after the Thunder`s comeback victory. “When we`re locked in on that side of the ball, we`re an unstoppable force.”
Oklahoma City has frequently displayed this dominance throughout the season, achieving a league-best 68 wins before sweeping Memphis. The team set a new NBA record for the best point differential in a season (+12.9 points per game), largely powered by one of the most formidable defenses seen recently. The Thunder`s defensive success is a product of exceptional talent, relentless effort, and strong team cohesion.
This formidable defense, alongside the consistent brilliance of scoring champion and MVP frontrunner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, faces its toughest challenge in the Western Conference semifinals against three-time MVP Nikola Jokic. Jokic`s combination of size, skill, and basketball IQ poses significant problems even for perfect defensive execution. Their next test is Game 3 against the Nuggets in Denver.
Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson described the Thunder`s defense as “seven pit bulls out there. Not five,” after Oklahoma City converted 22 turnovers into 30 points in a dominant win over the Cavaliers. He added, “They were scratching, reaching — in a good sense. Their speed and athleticism, they kind of toppled us over. It was that simple. That`s their calling card.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander expressed humility regarding the 2023-24 Defensive Player of the Year voting, where he finished seventh, earning a couple of second-place votes due to leading the league in steals. He was the only Thunder player on the ballots, which he felt didn`t accurately reflect the team`s collective defensive strength.
While Gilgeous-Alexander`s individual defensive stats are impressive – ranking top five in steals for three consecutive seasons and averaging at least 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks twice in that period (a feat only matched by Draymond Green and Alex Caruso) – he benefits from being assigned the least demanding defensive role. This allows him to act as a disruptive ball-hawk. Following the offseason additions of Caruso and center Isaiah Hartenstein, Gilgeous-Alexander might not even make an All-Defensive first team composed solely of Thunder players.
Luguentz Dort, a powerful yet agile 6-foot-4 guard, consistently guards the opponent`s primary perimeter scorer, taking pride in holding them below their typical performance. The lack of All-Defensive honors for Dort, despite opponents actively trying to neutralize his elite perimeter defense and his fourth-place finish in DPOY voting this season, is a point of contention in Oklahoma City.
“There`s not many guys as big and as strong as Lu that could move as well as he does laterally,” Gilgeous-Alexander commented. “He`s kind of a freak athlete in his own way. And then he`s really worked at it, understanding the game and understanding his opponents. His first couple of years he was obviously really good defensively and he`d get caught on certain things. He`s erased all of those.”
Dort`s combination of strength and footwork makes him a formidable one-on-one defender. He allowed only 0.69 points per possession in isolation situations this season.
“You think that he`s just a big body and it`ll be easy to screen,” Hartenstein noted. “I don`t know how, but he can get small, too. He just gets through the screens. I think that`s what makes him special — that combination of physicality and then his agility, too.”
Wing player Jalen Williams often takes the second-toughest defensive assignment, unless rookie stopper Cason Wallace is starting. With Caruso or Wallace providing strong defense off the bench, opposing stars find no easy matchups even against the reserves. If an opponent does manage to penetrate the paint, Chet Holmgren or Isaiah Hartenstein, or sometimes both bigs, are there to contest.
“You don`t really have a weak link,” Hartenstein explained. “When you have your stars playing at a high level defensively, everyone has to lock in. Just seeing your top guys are making those sacrifices, everyone kind of has to buy in. So I think that it starts with them and then the rest.”
The Thunder players are quick to share credit for their defensive success. While Gilgeous-Alexander praises his teammates, they point to him for setting the example of defensive commitment. Dort acknowledges his role as the team`s premier on-ball defender but highlights Caruso and Wallace as more disruptive “in the gaps,” making them excellent playmakers on defense.
“I`m good with my body,” Dort said. “They`re really good with their hands.”
Alex Caruso, acquired from Chicago, is the most decorated perimeter defender on the roster, having earned All-Defensive First Team honors in 2022-23 and Second Team last season. However, within the team, there`s consensus that Dort is the top defender among the disruptive group. Caruso and Wallace defer to Dort, though Caruso playfully ranked Wallace a “close third” among the pests.
While the Thunder`s rotation players are all capable defenders, they rarely defend in isolation. The team brought help defense on 77% of drives this season, fifth-highest in the league, and doubled on 8.0 paint touches per game, the most in the NBA.
Their approach is more about aggressive harassment than passive help, a form of controlled chaos facilitated by detailed planning and constant communication. When the defense is performing optimally, opponents are uncertain what they`ll face, while Thunder players know precisely where their teammates will be.
Oklahoma City`s defensive dominance is a collective achievement, fueled by a sense of healthy competition among the players involved.
“We haven`t said it out loud, but iron sharpens iron,” Caruso commented. “You see somebody competing at a certain level, playing at a certain level, you have no choice but to match that. And if you don`t, you get left behind.”
The Thunder significantly emphasized defense this season, building on their fourth-place defensive rating from the previous year (111.0 points allowed per 100 possessions), which saw them become the youngest No. 1 playoff seed. After a second-round exit, General Manager Sam Presti targeted Caruso via trade and Hartenstein in free agency, adding a premier perimeter defender and an excellent rim protector, both veterans with high basketball IQs and strong communication.
The team`s personnel allows head coach Mark Daigneault and defensive coordinator Dave Bliss to implement diverse schemes, from lineups featuring both 7-footers to fast-paced, small-ball groups. The Oklahoma City defense presents complex challenges, featuring multiple players opponents seek to avoid attacking and no easily exploitable targets.
“They rely heavily on their defensive stoppers,” Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving observed after a loss to Oklahoma City. “Which there are practically five of them out there at one time.”
Oklahoma City`s defensive rating improved to 106.6 this season, despite Chet Holmgren, a top shot-blocker, missing time with a fractured pelvis. They allowed 2.5 fewer points per 100 possessions than the second-ranked defense, the largest difference between the top two since 2015-16.
The aggressive Thunder defense also led the league comfortably in steals (10.3 per game), turnovers forced (17.0), and points generated from turnovers (21.8). These figures represent the highest averages in the millennium for both steals and points off turnovers. These numbers increased to 10.8 steals and 26.3 points off turnovers during their first-round sweep of the Grizzlies.
This trend has continued in the second round, though the series was tied after the first two games in Oklahoma City, partly due to Nikola Jokic leading the Nuggets in a comeback win in Game 1. The Thunder scored 57 points off 39 forced turnovers across the two games.
Following their decisive 149-106 victory in Game 2 to tie the series, Coach Daigneault insisted there were no major scheme changes, attributing the improvement to simply being “a lot sharper.” However, a key adjustment involved mostly assigning the stronger Hartenstein and third big Jaylin Williams to defend Jokic instead of Holmgren.
Nonetheless, Holmgren did switch onto Jokic during one significant possession late in the first quarter of Game 2 that perfectly encapsulated the Thunder`s defensive identity.
Jokic, sensing an opportunity to overpower the leaner Holmgren, established deep post position. But Holmgren`s length prevailed over strength; he managed to wrap his left arm around the 280-pound center and deflect the entry pass.
Cason Wallace quickly came in from the corner to bat the ball away as Jokic attempted to recover it. Luguentz Dort, one of three Thunder players in the paint, secured the loose ball.
“Everybody was flying around,” Holmgren remarked after the game, a comment on the team`s overall defensive intensity that particularly applied to this play.
Dort immediately found Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who needed just five dribbles and five seconds to sprint from the backcourt top of the key to the basket, navigating through defenders for a stylish scoop finish.
This sequence – resulting in two of the Thunder`s 34 points off turnovers in that dominant win – is precisely what Daigneault means when he emphasizes the interconnectedness of their game.
Oklahoma City`s defense doesn`t just prevent opponents from scoring; it actively fuels their own offense.
This dynamic propelled Oklahoma City to 68 regular-season wins and into the second round. It`s the same strategy they hope will lead them past further playoff opponents.
“I didn`t really look at tonight as a response as much as I looked at tonight as just us being who we are,” Daigneault said after the Game 2 win. “And that`s how we`ve been all season.”
