The Oklahoma City Thunder entered last season with low expectations after coming off a 24-58 campaign. A team perhaps best known at that juncture for stockpiling draft picks and young talent while looking toward the future wasn't taken seriously as a playoff threat, and it's easy to see why after a year where they finished second-last in the 15-team Western Conference.
However, OKC wowed naysayers in 2022-23, sneaking into the play-in tournament as the No. 10 seed following a 40-42 season. The Thunder even defeated the New Orleans Pelicans in the play-in tournament before falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a win-and-in game.
There were plenty of reasons for the team's surge up the standings, starting with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who earned All-NBA First Team honors after averaging 31.4 points on 51.0 percent shooting per game. The 25-year-old is a bona fide franchise player and superstar who has this team on the risee.