Will OKC Thunder Continue to Have Regular Starting Lineup Next Season?

Oklahoma City has mostly gone with one starting lineup when healthy over the past two seasons, but that may not be the case next season.

The Thunder have had the best two-year stretch in franchise history by a wide margin since the start of the 2024-25 campaign. 132 total regular season wins coupled with an NBA title and a Western Conference Finals appearance, things have seemed nearly perfect in Oklahoma City.

While injuries have clouded over the Thunder’s dominance in that span, they’ve also been able to rely on one main starting lineup when healthy. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein have almost always taken the floor for opening tip when the entire five-man group is healthy.

With the immediate futures of Dort and Hartenstein up in the air this offseason, there could easily be a shift in that area next season. Although that’s been the usual starting group for Mark Daigneault over the past two years, that might change next season, even if Oklahoma City brings everyone back.

Considering Cason Wallace is up for an extension and has been a key starter amid injury troubles for the Thunder, he could easily slot into the starting lineup in place of Dort. Plus, Oklahoma City might want to go small a bit more and not rely on the double-big lineups quite as much, which could open another spot for a guard or a wing.

Ultimately, those decisions have been available for Daigneault throughout the past two seasons, but he may be more inclined to exercise those options next season. With Wallace potentially getting a long-term extension in the offseason, some shifting of the roster and the potential emergence of Jared McCain or Ajay Mitchell, Daigneault will have his hands full next season.

Of course, Daigneault isn’t one to overrate the importance of the starting lineup, noting throughout the playoffs that it’s simply one piece of the rotational puzzle. Still, getting off to good starts is always valuable for a team like Oklahoma City, which will continue to have a target on its back, even if it didn’t secure another title this season.

The Thunder’s plethora of starting lineups over the past two seasons has been a result of injury issues, but it could be by design next season. The Thunder have plenty of options to utilize, and rotations change drastically from game to game at times over the course of an 82-game season.

So, if the starting lineup is simply a piece of the rotation, it would make perfect sense for Daigneault to begin switching things up a bit around the big three next season.

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