Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

[R1zzo23]

Setup
System: Xbox One
Game: NBA 2K22
Starting Season: 2021-2022
Roster: TBD
Difficulty: All-Star
Sliders: TBD, will start on default and adjust
Draft Class: TBD
Games Per Season: 29

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Welcome to my OKC Thunder rebuild! I have debated for quite a while about which franchise to start a MyLeague with. Considering I haven't played the NBA 2k series (for any real length of time) since 2k11, I was leaning many different ways. I was originally going to go with my hometown Boston Celtics, but thought that would be too easy to start with. Then I was leaning towards the Minnesota Timberwolves to at least have Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns to lean on.

After giving it some thought, I knew that I was going to be very, very bad at this game for a while until I got the hang of it again. Instead of tanking the future of my Celtics or the Wolves, why not continue to lean in on the biggest rebuild in the NBA currently going with the OKC Thunder? The league is built around ball handling and wings and the Thunder have two great building blocks with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey on the roster. At least they will give me two young, fun players to learn the game with and allow my skills to grow with their careers'.

Time has become very precious to me over the years so there's no way I am able to play a full 82-game schedule which is one big reason why I'm going the route of a 29-game schedule. I also am not a big fan of simulating games because the sim engine will almost certainly give wildly different results than the ones I will get with the sticks in my hands. It will also give much more meaning to each and every game as the season goes on.

I'm hoping to get my first game played at some point this week and get the ball rolling on this rebuild!

[R1zzo23]

Oklahoma City Thunder Rosters & Season Statistics:
- 2021-22 Opening Day Roster
- 2021-22 Season Statistics
- 2022-23 Opening Day Roster
- 2022-23 Season Statistics
- Thunder Acquire RJ Hampton from Magic
- Thunder Upgrade at SF with Deal for Mikal Bridges

All Stars, League Leaders, Standings and Award Winners:
- 2022 All Star Teams
- 2021-22 Regular Season Standings & Playoff Tree
- 2021-22 League Award Winners
- 2021-22 League Leaders
- 2023 All Star Teams
- 2022-23 League Award Winners
- 2022-23 League Leaders & Standings

Play-In & Playoff Results:
- 2021-22 Play-In Results
- 2021-22 Playoff Results
- 2022-23 Play-In Results
- 2022-23 Playoff Results

NBA Draft - Prospect Articles, Lottery Results and Draft Results:
- Chet Holmgren (2022)
- Paolo Banchero (2022)
- 2022 NBA Draft Lottery
- 2022 NBA Draft Results
- 2023 Top Prospects
- Victor Wembanyama (2023)
- 2023 NBA Draft Lottery
- 2023 NBA Draft Results

Free Agency:
- 2022 Free Agency Headlines
- Wembanyama In, Jokic Out

[R1zzo23]

The OKC Thunder will roll out a starting lineup that features their two elite ball-handlers and distributors in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey. Flanking them on the wings will be the defensive specialist Lu Dort and young slasher Darius Bazley. The center position is a considerable weakness on this team, forcing the Thunder to lean on the grizzled veteran Derrick Favors to anchor the paint for them.

Off the bench, Tre Mann is going to be given the chance to be the sixth man. With this team severely lacking in three-point shooting, Mann’s ability to get hot from deep quick will be a weapon this team leans on considerably. While the big men on this team aren’t prolific, they aren’t lacking in quantity as the bench will have Mike Muscala, Isaiah Roby and Aleksej Pokusevski to play different roles. Muscala will be utilized as a three-point spacer, Roby a slasher and Poku a deterrent at the rim. The one wing worth mentioning on this bench is Kenrich Williams who should be a solid glue guy for the bench and be able to win some 50-50 balls for the Thunder.

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2021-2022 OKC Thunder
#	NAME	POS	AGE	HT	WT
2	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (88)	PG	23	6-6	180
3	Josh Giddey (81)	SG	19	6-8	205
5	Luguentz Dort (79)	SF	23	6-3	215
7	Darius Bazley (77)	PF	21	6-8	208
15	Derrick Favors (76)	C	30	6-9	265
23	Tre Mann (77)	SG	21	6-3	178
33	Mike Muscala (76)	C	30	6-10	240
34	Kenrich Williams (76)	SF	27	6-6	210
22	Isaiah Roby (77)	C	24	6-8	230
17	Aleksej Pokusevski (76)	C	20	7-0	190
11	Theo Maledon (74)	PG	20	6-4	175
21	Aaron Wiggins (74)	SG	23	6-4	190
16	Ty Jerone (73)	PG	24	6-5	195
50	Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (74)	C	21	6-8	242
12	Lindy Waters III	SG	24	6-6	215

[studbucket]

I love the header. You're gonna need to commission someone to make new cutouts (kidding) for folks like Bazley, or maybe find an app to "cartoonify" pictures of these guys.

Any ideas on how to package all your picks up to get a good vet to supplement all the young talent you'll accumulate?

[Scuzz]

Such a fun team. This is going to be good.

[R1zzo23]

Quote: Originally Posted by Scuzz

Such a fun team. This is going to be good.

I’m excited to play with them. Couple young ball handlers to play with then the rest is really a blank canvas.

Quote: Originally Posted by studbucket

I love the header. You're gonna need to commission someone to make new cutouts (kidding) for folks like Bazley, or maybe find an app to "cartoonify" pictures of these guys. Any ideas on how to package all your picks up to get a good vet to supplement all the young talent you'll accumulate?

Haha yeah I was shocked that Bazley didn’t have a photo from Stat Muse considering he’s been in the league for 3 years. I may need to look into it on my own.

I’m not sure what I’m going to do with all the picks. There are so many and obviously there’s not nearly enough room to make all of them. I may use them to trade up in drafts or try to pry away a young star in a bad situation. We will see how things play out around the league.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[R1zzo23]

[R1zzo23]

The goal in Oklahoma City over the last few seasons has been to collect as many draft assets as possible. The goal is to land a transcendent talent at the top of draft. The lottery hasn’t been kind to the Thunder, but with so many lottery tickets odds are that they have to hit it big one of these years, right?

In the upcoming 2022 NBA Draft, there are three prospects being touted as Tier 1 players: Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero and Jabari Smith. All three of them would fill a huge need on this roster and give another young building block to add next to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey.

And if the Thunder miss out on one of the top-3 players in this year’s draft, the 2023 NBA Draft features one of the best prospects to enter the NBA in some time in Victor Wembanyama. The 7’3” Frenchman has all the tools to be a force on both ends of the floor and is the prospect that would give this franchise the best chance to make a move into perennial playoff contender.

Or, does this franchise reverse course and cash in on the treasure trove of draft picks they currently have in order to acquire an established talent in the league to jump start their ascent in the league? With 19 first round picks over the next five drafts, there is just no way that the team can make all those selections and keep them on the roster. There will be a numbers crunch and almost inevitably a consolidation of picks for a higher pick or a player.

OKC Thunder Draft Picks
YEAR	1ST ROUND PICKS	2ND ROUND PICKS
2022	OKC, LAC, PHX	OKC
2023	DEN, DET, LAC, OKC, WAS	DAL/MIA, WAS
2024	HOU, LAC, OKC, UTA	CHA, MIN, OKC
2025	HOU/LAC, MIA, OKC, PHI	ATL, BOS/MEM, PHI
2026	HOU, LAC, OKC	DAL/PHI, OKC