Thunder Fantasy Basketball Update | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Josh Giddey, Luguentz Dort and More

Discussing the best Oklahoma City Thunder fantasy basketball options so far this season.

Our next fantasy basketball update will focus on the Oklahoma City Thunder. OKC sits second in the Western Conference with a 14-7 record. They are one of the surprise teams so far, and have a bright future with a young roster assembled, and more draft picks coming.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the team’s leader and a fantasy star. Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Josh Giddey and Luguentz Dort have also been solid fantasy assets this season.

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Fantasy Outlook

Gilgeous-Alexander has played in 20 games for Oklahoma City and leads the team with 35.1 minutes played per contest.

SGA is also averaging 30.5 points, 6.2 assists, 5.6 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 0.9 blocks, while committing 2.1 turnovers and 2.6 fouls per game. Gilgeous-Alexander is shooting 54.4% from the field, 34.8% from 3-point land and 91.4% from the free throw line.

His scoring is about a point down from a season ago, but his rebounds, assists and steals are all up to make him one of the top fantasy assets in the game. SGA also is committing less turnovers and fouls than a season ago.

Gilgeous-Alexander had an average draft position of 6 and has exceeded expectations a bit, with the fifth-best player rating in the FantasySP trade value charts. He’s quite a few points behind the top four players, but he'd still be very close to untouchable if I rostered him. If you hope to trade for SGA, it’s going to take a big return, but he's one of the few players that's truly worth it.

Chet Holmgren Fantasy Outlook

Holmgren is the next Thunder player to appear in the trade value charts, coming in 60th. That’s pretty much right on pace with his ADP of 58.

After missing his first NBA season, Holmgren has certainly lived up to the hype of being a No. 2 overall pick. He’s averaging 17.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.9 steals and 2.4 blocks across 30 minutes in his 21 games played. He’s shooting 51.8% overall, 37.1% from deep and 87.8% from the line.

Holgrem looks like the frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year honor and looks like he’ll be an NBA star for years to come. He’s a player that is most valuable in dynasty leagues right now, but also is a guy that is quite valuable in redraft leagues.

You could swap Holmgren for a guard or wing if you are lacking there, but you’ll want to make sure you get a guy who stuffs the stat sheet like Holmgren does. If you want to acquire Holmgren, I’d suggest packaging a couple players to nab him, as it’s tough to find too many players that are as well rounded as Holgream.

Jalen Williams Fantasy Outlook

Williams has taken a nice step forward in his second NBA season. His points, rebounds and assist numbers are all up, while his rebounds and steals are barely down.

Across 18 games played, Williams is averaging 33.1 minutes, 17.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.3 blocks, while committing 3 fouls and 1.8 turnovers. He is shooting 51.7% overall, 36.5% from deep and 87.3% from the free throw line.

Williams checks in 77th on the trade value charts. He had an ADP of 73.

Williams doesn’t quite fill the stat sheet like Holmgren does, but he plays a little more and it helps him score a touch more. The minutes and points Williams gets is probably enough to help you nab a player ranked a bit higher than him in the trade value charts. Unlike in the case of Holmgren, I’d try to land Williams by offering a single player in return, because two player’s combined numbers are probably exceeding what Williams does overall.

Josh Giddey Fantasy Outlook

Giddey currently sits 79th in the trade value charts, which is well below his ADP of 45. He’s dealt with an off the court issue, but has still played in 21 games.

He’s averaging 26.1 minutes, 11.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.4 blocks, while committing 2.5 turnovers and 1.4 fouls. He’s shooting 41.6% overall, just 30.2% on his 3-pointers and is 77.8% from the line.

Giddey hasn’t lived up to expectations this year, and is averaging less points (4.9 less), rebounds (2.1 less) and assists (2 less) than last year. His playing time is down about five minutes and his shooting percentages have dropped considerably - about 7% overall and 2% from deep.

With all the other talent OKC has on its roster, Giddey looks like the odd man out. I’m not sure the Thunder would consider trading him, as he still holds a big role with the team, but Giddey’s fantasy value would probably jump way up if he got dealt. That’s hard to predict, so for now I’d probably hang on to Giddey as you wouldn’t be getting a return that matches where you likely drafted him. He’s a decent buy-low target, but I’d probably look elsewhere.

Luguentz Dort Fantasy Outlook

Dort is the next OKC player to appear in the trade value charts, but he’s a distant 190th. His ADP was 169.

He’s started 21 games and averaged 28.2 minutes. Dort is also averaging 10.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.8 blocks, while committing 3 fouls and 1 turnover per game. He is shooting 42.9% overall, 37.9% from deep and 82.7% on his free throws.

With the improved play of Williams and addition of Holgrem, Dort has seen his points, rebounds, assists and steal numbers all dip. His shooting percentages are up, which keep his fantasy stock from dipping any further.

Dort is owned in 24% of leagues after being near 90% earlier in the season. His numbers are decent, but there’s likely better waiver wire options available in standard leagues. He’s a decent option in deeper leagues, but doesn’t hold a lot of trade value unless he or another teammate gets moved.

Other Fantasy Outlooks

Cason Wallace and Isaiah Joe are both averaging over 20 minutes per game, despite almost exclusively coming off the bench. Kenrich Williams, Jaylin Williams and Aaron Wiggins are all averaging 12 or more minutes and have played in 10 or more games. Ousmane Dieng also averages double-digit minutes, and has played in 12 games.

Joe averages 10 points per game, but doesn’t do a whole lot else constantly while on the court. That has his own percentage at just 13.

Wallace is at 4% owned. He’s averaging 7.5 points per contest, but like Joe, doesn’t do a whole lot else when on the court.

Kenrich Williams, Jaylin Williams, Wiggins and Dieng all average less than six points per game and all have low own percentages as a result. 

Like Wallace and Joe, Kenrich Williams, Jaylin Williams, Wiggins and Dieng are only going to be fantasy options in standard leagues if there’s several injuries to players ahead of them. Joe and Wallace are the first options to add if there’s any injuries, and then after that, pickups would be determined on what positions were injured.

As already mentioned, most of these guys are playing enough games and minutes to be fantasy assets in deeper leagues. Most also have some decent upside in dynasty leagues, as they are still young players.

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