Elite defenses don't stem from one line of defense. They usually consist of elite on-ball and intimidating backline defenders (unless you're Rudy Gobert, who made subpar defenders look passable in his Utah days).
The Oklahoma City Thunder don't have the problem the Jazz had at the height of the Gobert-Donovan Mitchell era. They are loaded with switchable, gritty defenders. Gobert was (still is) a stellar rim protector. The Utah game plan was to funnel everything to Gobert, but OKC doesn't need to play like that with its personnel.
The Thunder's offensive attack isn't lacking, with MVP-favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way, but their defense is what travels everywhere and makes them a serious threat to raise the Larry O come the postseason's end. The Thunder was the first team to advance to the second round this postseason. They patiently wait for a killer matchup with either the Los Angeles Clippers or Denver Nuggets.
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Thunder's long list of elite defenders makes them special
Where do we begin? OKC has two player who finished in the top 10 of Defensive Player of the Year voting, but they may not be the best overall defender on the team. One was deserving of that nod and on the ball, there aren't many better than Lu Dort.
Dort has been in the headlines for unfortunate reasons lately, but when he hounds Kawhi Leonard, James Harden or Jamal Murray next round, the talking point will return to his vice-gripping on-ball pressure. Dort isn't the fly-around defender like another Thunder who should be all defense, but offensive weapons wouldn't sign up for the Dort matchup; he's terrifying.
Jalen Williams deserves a spot on the All-Defensive team but may not make it due to the sheer number of great defenders the game employs today. There should be three All-Defense teams, but that's a story for another column. Williams is a switchable Swiss army knife who fills in the gaps.
Williams stepped up, anchoring the defense for a few weeks when OKC was centerless. At 6-foot-6, Williams'' speed, strength, and pterodactyl wingspan played a key role in his versatility on that end. Williams can operate as a primary matchup or a roamer who creates turnover after turnover.
While Willaims stepped up for some time when the Thunder were centerless, OKC was happy to get their bigs back in the lineup. Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein are a devastating double big combination. Holmgren has proved to be one of the game-changing rim protectors in his second professional year.
According to PBP stats, opponents shot 44 percent with Homgren at the rim in the regular season. That terrifying figure is made more Friday the 13thish with the fact that Holmgren can play off the ball, operating as a help defender with Hartenstein taking center matchups.
Hartenstein is a savvy defender who players don't have a ton of fun attacking at the basket. He's only allowing 56 percent at the cup. For reference, generational defender Victor Wembanyama allowed 49 percent at the rim, and on the negative side, Nikola Jokic allowed 70 percent at the basket. Both Thunder bigs don't allow much to go down in their house. When you have pesky guard defenders who challenge shots while staying in front in their own right (the antithesis to those Jazz guards), the big men's value skyrockets.
To complete OKC's defense, they just have the best per-minute defender in the NBA, casually playing 21 minutes a night (and another top-tier guard). Alex Caruso is Dort and Williams combined at a smaller stature. Caruso doesn't allow many blow-bys and has the strength to stop scorers in their tracks when trying to get by him.
Off the ball, Caruso is a high-IQ mastermind who's consistently in the right spots. The 30-year-old posted the best defensive estimated-plus minus this season. In a league with the Thompson Twins, Wemby and other young elite defenders, Caruso is still number one. The Memphis Grizzlies quickly saw his hustle and defensive versatility on display when OKC made quick work of them.
Alex Caruso is just incredible.
— Thunder Film Room (@ThunderFilmRoom) April 25, 2025
Some of the best hands in the world. pic.twitter.com/aXjOJynzEn
Cason Wallace, who played the fourth-most minutes for OKC in the regular season, is another elite(!) defender. For those keeping count, that makes six premier defenders on this Thunder roster. Wallace has hands of steel in passing lanes and on the ball. Get lazy around Wallace, and it's going the other way.
Per Cleaning the Glass, Wallace has a 2.7 steal percentage, which ranks in the 92nd percentile among combo guards. Wallace can guard 1 through 3 and adds a special layer to this Thunder defense as a dependable backup guard. The Thunder's star guard didn't deserve to be on a DPOY ballot, but he's still solid on that end.
Gilgeous-Alexander doesn't guard other elite players due to the abundance of defensive talent around him. Like Wallace, SGA is a magnet in passing lanes. His magnetism was good enough for the second-most steals. Along with his sticky hands, SGA provides help-side rim protection. His 77 blocks in the regular season were the fourth most from any guard in the league. On the ball, he's fine, but he's not food.
Thunder don't have any players teams can routinely attack defensively. Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins aren't great defenders, but OKC always surrounds them with stoppers who allow the sharpshooters to be hidden—and to be fair, both snipers compete on the non-glamorous side of the ball in their own right.
Oklahoma City's offensive attack, which was the second-best in the regular season, can put them over the hump. The Shai 30-balls are inevitable, but their stymying defense and more-than-enough defensive personnel will be the trope that catapults them if they reach their season goal.