Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren. Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

How Thunder became youngest No. 1 seed in NBA history

By Sai Mohan | Last updated 4/15/24

The Thunder officially hit the reset button by trading Russell Westbrook and Paul George in the 2019 offseason. Five years later, the rebuild is complete.

On Sunday, the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander-led team became the youngest team in NBA history to notch the first seed in either conference, per ESPN. With an average age of 23.9 years, OKC broke the previous record set by the 2004-05 Suns, who topped the Western Conference with an average roster age of 25.76.

The next on the list are the 1976-77 Sixers (26.02 years), the 1980-81 Suns (26.10 years) and the 1977-78 Trail Blazers (27.71 years) as the youngest teams to win their respective conferences.

Mark Daigneault's squad also became the youngest since the 2011-12 Thunder to win over 55 games.

Youngest teams in NBA history to win 55 games:

1. 2023-2024 Thunder
2. 2010-2011 Thunder https://t.co/JgUUA6pPaC
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) April 12, 2024

The most impressive part about OKC's successful rebuild has been its lack of reliance on top-5 draft picks. In recent years, most rebuilding teams entered the proverbial "tank mode" to snag talents from the top of the lottery. For example, the Timberwolves drafted Anthony Edwards and Karl Anthony-Towns at No. 1, the Celtics picked Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown at No. 3 and the Pelicans have a former No. 1 overall pick (Zion Williamson) and a No. 2 overall pick (Brandon Ingram) in their ranks.

The Thunder have gone against the grain by investing in team chemistry and building a culture. Except for Chet Holmgren and Josh Giddey, who were drafted No. 2 and No. 6, respectively, every player in Thunder's core unit fell out of the Top-10 — SGA (No. 11), Jalen Williams (No. 12), Luguentz Dort (undrafted), Isaiah Joe (No. 49), Aaron Wiggins (No. 55) and Jaylin Williams (No. 34).

Rather than drafting a host of top-recruited players and trying to make it work, the Thunder brought on board players who complement each other's skillsets. A novel concept that the Blazers and Pistons could pay attention to, seeing as they've been drafting at the top of the lottery without an endgame in sight.

With the season in the books, will Thunder's players and staff be rewarded with some hardware?

Just going to leave this here #ThunderUp | @okcthunder | @BallySports pic.twitter.com/mR9zMWTI5f
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) April 14, 2024