The Oklahoma City Thunder went from potential NBA title contender to a team that missed the playoffs entirely last season largely because of injuries, including the loss of Kevin Durant. Durant and Russell Westbrook are expected to be ready for the start of next season, which means the Thunder enter the 2015-16 campaign as not only a championship contender but a team ripe with fantasy gems.
Remember, this is a team with a new coaching staff as Billy Donovan takes over, so the scheme could be different. At any rate, here’s how we rank the top five on their roster:
1. Kevin Durant
Durant was the MVP and the most dominant pure scorer in the game before injuries tore apart his 2014-15 NBA season. However, he is expected to be cleared for full basketball activities by the start of August and barring another major setback, he should be back to his old form for the start of the year.
Durant is 26 years old and he averaged a team-high 29.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game in his last full season back in 2013-14. Look for him to bounce back and dominate at the small forward position once again this season.
2. Russell Westbrook
Westbrook missed the first couple of weeks of last season as well but he was at the top of his game when he returned. By the end of the season, he was a candidate for league MPV. With Durant sidelined, Westbrook looked absolutely dominant as Oklahoma City’s primary scorer.
He averaged a team-high 28.1 points, 8.6 assists and 7.3 rebounds last season and his relentless engine and elite skillset make him a prime candidate to rank among the league’s best point guards once again. There will be some people who shy away from Westbrook as he won’t be the center of attention with Durant back in the lineup. That’s a fair point that might lead him to being overdrafted in some cases but overall, we’ve seen these two coexist from a fantasy perspective and there’s no reason to believe it won’t happen again.
3. Enes Kanter
Kanter was an absolute beast after he was traded to the Thunder midway through the year and Oklahoma City rewarded him by handing him a massive free agent deal with a $70 million commitment. Considering he averaged 18.7 points, 11.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists in the final 26 games of the year with the Thunder and is still just 23 years old, that deal makes a lot of sense. However, it would still be unwise for fantasy GM’s to think that he can match those second-half statistics. Remember, not only was Durant out but so was Serge Ibaka. With those two back, we can expect some of Kanter’s numbers to go down, although he will remain as the primary source of points on the inside.
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4. Serge Ibaka
It will be interesting to see how much Ibaka’s role is adjusted from an offensive perspective with Kanter in the mix for a full season. Ibaka averaged 14.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game a year ago but the truth is that he’s never proven to be a consistent scorer from the inside. In one half-season, Kanter has stepped in and taken over that role where Ibaka was sputtering. That likely means that Ibaka plays more of a defensive role next to counter and still maintains his blocks and rebounds, but his points should get cut down.
5. Dion Waiters
Waiters will be a serviceable shooting guard that helps provide some depth scoring for Oklahoma City but considering who is ahead of him on this list, it doesn’t make sense to value him too high. Waiters averaged 11.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists last season but he doesn’t really bring much to your team in terms of fantasy. Points are the cheapest commodity and Waiters doesn’t exactly do much else. Let someone else in your draft reach for him.
