The 2021–22 Oklahoma City Thunder season was the 14th season of the franchise in Oklahoma City and the 56th in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
The Thunder were officially eliminated from playoff contention for the second consecutive season. It was the first time the team suffered consecutive losing seasons since 2006–2009 where they went on a four–year stretch.
Previous season The Thunder finished the 2020–21 season 22–50 to finish in fourth place in the Northwest Division, fourteenth in the Western Conference and failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2014-15.
In their first year of the rebuild, the Thunder started the season returning only six players from the 2019-20 season. The Thunder also mutually agreed to part ways with head coach Billy Donovan after five seasons. To replace Donovan, the Thunder promoted assistant coach Mark Daigneault who previously served as the head coach of the Oklahoma City Blue.
Replacing Chris Paul, Danilo Gallinari, and Steven Adams in the starting lineup, the Thunder started veterans George Hill, Al Horford and promoted second-year forward Darius Bazley. After failing to trade Horford at the deadline, the Thunder announced Horford will remain inactive for the rest of the season to prioritize the team's younger talent. After Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's season-ending injury and Al Horford being shut down, the Thunder finished April and May with a 2–23 record including a 152–95 loss to the Indiana Pacers which was the largest home loss in league history.
Offseason
Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College/club team 1 6 Josh Giddey PG Adelaide 36ers 1 16 Alperen Şengün C Beşiktaş 1 18 Tre Mann PG Florida 2 34 Rokas Jokubaitis PG FC Barcelona 2 36 Miles McBride PG West Virginia 2 55 Aaron Wiggins SG Maryland Jeremiah Robinson-Earl The Thunder had three first round-picks and three second-round picks entering the draft. The Thunder owned one first-round pick entering the 2021 NBA draft lottery. The Thunder ended the night with the sixth overall pick after having a 34.1% chance to be in the top three. The Thunder other's first rounders were acquired from the Al Horford trade and the Paul George trade. The Thunder also acquired two other second-round picks from the Kelly Oubre Jr. trade.
On draft night, the Thunder traded the draft rights to Alperen Şengün, the 16th pick, to the Houston Rockets in exchange for a 2022 protected first-round pick via DET and a 2023 protected first-round pick via WAS. The Thunder traded the draft rights to Rokas Jokubaitis, the 34th pick, and the draft rights to Miles McBride, the 36th pick to the New York Knicks in exchange for the draft rights to Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, the 32nd pick.
The Thunder ended 2021 NBA draft night with Australia's NBL guard Josh Giddey, Florida guard Tre Mann, Villanova center Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Maryland guard Aaron Wiggins.
Trades On June 18, the Thunder traded Al Horford, Moses Brown and a 2023 second-round pick to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Kemba Walker, a 2021 first-round pick and a 2025 second-round pick. On August 6, the Thunder negotiated a contract buyout and waived Walker. In return, Walker gave up $20 million in total in his buyout. Walker gave up $9.7 million in his 2021-22 salary and $10.2 million in his 2022-23 salary.
On July 30, the Thunder traded a 2027 second-round pick and cash considerations to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Derrick Favors and a future first-round pick.
Free agency
For this offseason, free agency began on August 2, 2021. Tony Bradley, Svi Mykhailiuk and Mike Muscala were set to hit unrestricted free agency while Josh Hall was set to hit restricted free agency. On August 2, it was reported that Mike Muscala agreed to a two-year, $7 million deal to stay with the Thunder, which he later signed on August 11. On August 18, Josh Hall accepted his two-way qualifying offer to re-sign with the Thunder. However, on September 12, the Thunder waived Hall. On August 19, Tony Bradley signed a deal with the Chicago Bulls. On September 11, Svi Mykhailiuk signed a deal with the Toronto Raptors. On August 2, it was reported that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander agreed to a five-year, $172 million rookie extension with the Thunder, which he later signed on August 6.
On September 3, Vít Krejčí signed a rookie deal with the Thunder. Krejčí was originally selected 37th overall in the 2020 NBA draft but did not sign a contract in the 2020-21 season, instead spent the season rehabbing with the Oklahoma City Blue after tearing his ACL. On September 15, Paul Watson Jr. signed a two-way contract with the Thunder. Watson Jr. spent the 2020-21 season with the Toronto Raptors.
On September 26, Charlie Brown Jr. was waived by the Thunder.
Front office and coaching changes On August 10, the Thunder announced Nick Collison as a special assistant to Sam Presti. Prior to taking this position, Collison served as a basketball operations representative for the Thunder. Collison joins Eric Maynor, Nazr Mohammed, Mike Milks and Anthony Morrow as former Thunder players contributing to the Thunder organization.
Roster
Staff Oklahoma City Thunder staffFront Office Chairman – Clay Bennett Executive Vice President & General Manager – Sam Presti Vice President of Basketball Operations – Rob Hennigan Vice President of Basketball Operations – Will Dawkins
Basketball Operations Chief of Staff – Glenn Wong Vice President of Human & Player Performance – Donnie Strack Vice President of Logistics & Engagement – Marc St. Yves Vice President of Basketball Communications & Engagement – Matt Tumbleson Vice President / Team Counsel & Strategic Alignment – Amanda Green Vice President of Strategy & Analysis – Jesse Gould Vice President of Strategy & Design – Wynn Sullivan Pro Evaluation Scout – Nazr Mohammed Coaches Head coach – Mark Daigneault Assistant coach – David Akinyooye Assistant coach – Dave Bliss Assistant coach – Mike Wilks Assistant coach – Kameron Woods Assistant coach for Player Development – Zach Peterson Assistant coach for Player Development – Eric Maynor Assistant coach for Program Development – Connor Johnson
Broadcasters Play-by-Play – Chris Fisher Television Analyst – Michael Cage Broadcast Reporter – Nick Gallo Broadcast Reporter – Paris Lawson Radio Broadcaster – Matt Pinto Spanish Radio Broadcaster – Eleno Ornelas
→ Coaching staff → Management → Ownership → Broadcasters
Standings
Division
Conference
Game log
Preseason
|- style="background:#fcc;" | 1 | October 4 | Charlotte | | Josh Giddey (18) | Josh Giddey (7) | Gilgeous-Alexander & Maledon (4) | Paycom Center | 0–1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 2 | October 10 | @ Milwaukee | | Luguentz Dort (19) | D. J. Wilson (7) | Giddey, Gilgeous-Alexander (6) | Fiserv Forum12,442 | 0–2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 3 | October 13 | Denver | | Darius Bazley (16) | Darius Bazley (8) | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (4) | Paycom Center | 1–2 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 4 | October 14 | Denver | | Aleksej Pokuševski (22) | Gabriel Deck (11) | Josh Giddey (8) | BOK Center | 1–3
Regular season
|- style="background:#fcc;" | 1 | October 20 | @ Utah | | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (18) | Josh Giddey (10) | Giddey, Pokuševski, Maledon (3) | Vivint Arena18,306 | 0–1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 2 | October 22 | @ Houston
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (13) | Aleksej Pokuševski (7) | Dort, Giddey (4) | Toyota Center15,674 | 0–2 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 3 | October 24 | Philadelphia | | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (29) | Josh Giddey (8) | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (8) | Paycom Center14,256 | 0–3 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 4 | October 26 | Golden State | | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (30) | Josh Giddey (9) | Giddey, Gilgeous-Alexander (4) | Paycom Center15,717 | 0–4 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 5 | October 27 | LA Lakers | | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (27) | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (9) | Josh Giddey (10) | Paycom Center15,783 | 1–4 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 6 | October 30 | @ Golden State | | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (15) | Darius Bazley (8) | Josh Giddey (6) | Chase Center18,063 | 1–5
|- style="background:#fcc;" | 7 | November 1 | @ LA Clippers | | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (28) | Maledon, Muscala, Gilgeous-Alexander (7) | Josh Giddey (7) | Staples Center13,722 | 1–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 8 | November 4 | @ LA Lakers
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (28) | Derrick Favors (11) | Josh Giddey (8) | Staples Center18,997 | 2–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 9 | November 7 | San Antonio | | Mike Muscala (20) | Darius Bazley (11) | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (9) | Paycom Center12,972 | 3–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 10 | November 10 | @ New Orleans | | Luguentz Dort (27) | Josh Giddey (12) | Josh Giddey (9) | Smoothie King Center15,355 | 4–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 11 | November 12 | Sacramento | | Dort, Gilgeous-Alexander (22) | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (14) | Josh Giddey (5) | Paycom Center12,881 | 5–6 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 12 | November 14 | Brooklyn | | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (23) | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (8) | Giddey, Wiggins (4) | Paycom Center15,080 | 5–7 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 13 | November 15 | Miami | | Luguentz Dort (20) | Darius Bazley (7) | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (5) | Paycom Center12,330 | 5–8 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 14 | November 17 | Houston
| Luguentz Dort (34) | Josh Giddey (11) | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (9) | Paycom Center12,066 | 6–8 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 15 | November 19 | @ Milwaukee
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (17) | Josh Giddey (12) | Giddey, Williams (4) | Fiserv Forum17,341 | 6–9 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 16 | November 20 | @ Boston
| Luguentz Dort (16) | Darius Bazley (10) | Darius Bazley (6) | TD Garden19,156 | 6–10 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 17 | November 22 | @ Atlanta | | Dort, Giddey, Jerome (15) | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (10) | Josh Giddey (8) | State Farm Arena15,806 | 6–11 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 18 | November 24 | Utah | | Luguentz Dort (27) | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (10) | Josh Giddey (8) | Paycom Center17,341 | 6–12 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 19 | November 26 | Washington | | Luguentz Dort (21) | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (8) | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (9) | Paycom Center14,579 | 6–13 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 20 | November 29 | @ Houston | | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (22) | Mann, Robinson-Earl (7) | Josh Giddey (7) | Toyota Center12,829 | 6–14
|- style="background:#fcc;" | 21 | December 1 | Houston | | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (39) | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (9) | Dort, Robinson-Earl (4) | Paycom Center13,222 | 6–15 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 22 | December 2 | @ Memphis | | Luguentz Dort (15) | Muscala, Robinson-Earl (5) | Ty Jerome (4) | FedExForum13,103 | 6–16 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 23 | December 6 | @ Detroit | | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (30) | Bazley, Robinson-Earl (8) | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (13) | Little Caesars Arena 10,522 | 7–16 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 24 | December 8 | @ Toronto | | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (26) | Derrick Favors (9) | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (9) | Scotiabank Arena19,800 | 8–16 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 25 | December 10 | LA Lakers
| Tre Mann (19) | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (9) | Josh Giddey (7) | Paycom Center16,523 | 8–17 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 26 | December 12 | Dallas | | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (18) | Aleksej Pokuševski (9) | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (5) | Paycom Center15,747 | 8–18 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 27 | December 15 | New Orleans | | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (33) | Josh Giddey (9) | Josh Giddey (7) | Paycom Center13,253 | 8–19 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 28 | December 18 | LA Clippers | | Luguentz Dort (29) | Josh Giddey (10) | Josh Giddey (18) | Paycom Center15,123 | 9–19 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 29 | December 20 | @ Memphis
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (23) | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (7) | Josh Giddey (11) | FedEx Forum15,721 | 10–19 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 30