How the OKC Thunder's Playoffs Run Compares to Last Season's

The Thunder are in the midst of putting together their second championship run in a row.

Oklahoma City is currently terrorizing the playoffs, as it has made it through its first two series in just eight games. It has become the eleventh team in NBA history to do so, and has left its mark on this season, but this is far from the end goal.

The Thunder didn’t have this dominant a start to last year’s playoffs, but they left with the end goal of an NBA Championship. Now, with the playoffs at least halfway over for the OKC squad, let’s see how this year’s run is matching up to last year's.

As mentioned, Oklahoma City didn’t go a perfect 8-0 last year to start the playoffs. However, last year’s playoffs saw OKC matched up against a much better team in the earlier rounds. The Thunder’s first round looked similar, starting the postseason with a sweep, but instead of an injury-burdened second-round opponent like the Lakers, the Thunder were matched up against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets.

Jokic and crew fought to the very end, pushing OKC to a game seven, where Oklahoma City would eventually win. Although this performance might not have been as dominant as this year, it made the Thunder battle-tested and prepared for both the Western Conference Finals and the NBA Finals.

Oklahoma City hasn’t faced the same test this year quite yet, but has displayed stats that suggest that they’ll be ready when the time comes.

The Thunder seem to have no competition as they have had a net rating of 16.6 this postseason. This is almost double their championship run last year, where they posted an 8.3. This has been fueled by the upgrade in OKC’s scoring, as it is averaging 121.3 points per game through these two rounds, about seven more points then averaged last postseason.

Oklahoma City is showcasing that it can outperform its championship run from last season, and that’s an issue for the rest of the league. Its offense is thriving, and it isn’t sacrificing defense to achieve this, as the Thunder have a 109.3 defensive rating this postseason.

The NBA isn’t the same as it was last year, which means Oklahoma City will have to find a new path to its second championship. Whatever road they continue taking, one thing is for certain: the Thunder have all the tools necessary to take care of whatever crosses their path.

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