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Check The Numbers: The Oklahoma City Thunder Are The NBA’s Most Clutch Team

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The Oklahoma City Thunder have shocked the NBA in the 2019-20 season. Over halfway through the season, they’ve continued to hold the 7th seed in the Western Conference with a record of 25-19.

What might be more impressive is their focus late in games and refusal to quit, regardless of the circumstances. With countless late-game comebacks and insane efficiency in the clutch, the Thunder have found themselves on top more often than anyone may have thought. In fact, stastically speaking, Oklahoma City is the most clutch team in the entire NBA. Let’s break down just how incredible they have been late in games.

Individually, when it comes to the clutch, the Thunder have some of the best players in the league. While the common NBA fan has taken note of how impressive Chris Paul has been in the clutch, other members of the Thunder have been exceptional as well. For example, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is tied for sixth in the league with 72 points. To put that into perspective, he is tied with guys like James Harden and Devin Booker. Danilo Gallinari is tied for 29th in the NBA with 55 clutch points. While that may not seem like much, that ties him with Anthony Davis.

  • Chris Paul - 103 points (1st)
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - 72 points (T-6th)
  • Danilo Gallinari - 55 points (T-29th)
  • Dennis Schroder - 45 points (T-37th)
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - 8 steals (2nd)
  • Chris Paul - 6 steals (3rd)
  • Steven Adams - 5 steals (T-8th)

The team as a whole has also been great in the clutch outside of the above players. Their general shooting splits are all in the top-five of the entire league.

  • 52.0 FG% (1st)
  • 65.9 TS% (1st)
  • 87.6 FT% (2nd)
  • 198 FGA (3rd)
  • 36.9 3P% (5th)

Their extremely efficient shooting has led them to be the top overall offensive team the league by offensive rating, net rating, and box plus/minus. Oklahoma City has also dominated in the paint in the clutch and taken care of the ball.

  • 123.8 ORTG (1st)
  • 26.2 Net RTG (1st)
  • +68 box +/- (1st)
  • 106 points in paint (2nd)
  • 33 turnovers (T-2nd lowest)

Of course, as everyone knows, you can't win games in the final minutes without playing defense and getting stops. Another reason the Thunder have won so many games down the stretch is due to their suffocating defense that leads the league in steals and points off turnovers. They’ve also taken care of business on the glass.

  • 104 rebounds (1st)
  • 22 steals (1st)
  • 55 points off TO (1st)
  • 97.7 DRTG (6th)

While statistics are great and Oklahoma City’s record speaks for itself, they've had several comeback wins that deserve recognition.

Chicago Bulls (12/16/2019)

Oklahoma City found themselves down 26 points to the Chicago Bulls. On the back of Chris Paul, who had 19 of the team’s 27 fourth quarter points, the Thunder came back to win 109-106. The 26 point comeback tied the largest in franchise history.

Memphis Grizzlies (12/18/2019)

The very next game, just two days after coming from behind by 26 points to win, Oklahoma City had yet another incredible comeback. Down 24 to the Memphis Grizzlies, the Thunder would storm back to cap off a 126-122 win. This made them the only team in NBA history to overcome back-to-back 24 point deficits in past 20 years.

LA Clippers (12/22/2019)

Four days later, against a championship contending LA Clippers team, Oklahoma City dug themselves into an 18-point deficit. Once again, they would come back to win the game 118-112. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the charge for the Thunder with 32 points against his former team in Paul George’s return to Oklahoma City.

Houston Rockets (1/20/2020)

Just last night, with no healthy center on the roster, Oklahoma City went into Houston and once again began playing catch-up, this time down 17 points. After outscoring the Rockets 41 to 20 in the fourth quarter behind a balanced scoring attack and elite defense, the Thunder went on to win 112-107.

While these four games stuck out as some of the most memorable comebacks for Oklahoma City so far this season, there are still many more. These include a 15-point comeback against the Golden State Warriors, a 14-point comeback against the San Antonio Spurs, and a 12-point comeback against the Dallas Mavericks.

Overall, all of these comeback wins have come through being the best team in the NBA in clutch minutes. We haven’t even talked about the games the Thunder have won down the stretch that weren’t comebacks. There also have been numerous games that were close the entire night and the Thunder prevail late for the win.

While it is extremely difficult to sustain these types of clutch statistics for an entire season, the Oklahoma City Thunder will look to keep it rolling.

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