The Thunder finished the 2023–24 season 57–25 to finish first in the Northwest Division, first in the Western conference and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2020. The Thunder won its first round series, sweeping the New Orleans Pelicans before losing to the fifth-seeded Dallas Mavericks in six games.
With the return of Chet Holmgren from injury, the Thunder again exceeded their win expectations behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren, and second-year forward Jalen Williams. Gilgeous-Alexander finished second in MVP voting behind 30.1 points on a career high 53.5% field goal percentage.
The Thunder had one first-round pick entering the draft. This would be first NBA draft since the draft was first trimmed down to two rounds back in 1989 that the event would take place in multiple days instead of just one day. The pick – originally acquired from the Houston Rockets – had a 1.50% chance to win the first pick, acquired through the Russell Westbrook trade in 2019.[2] With an 85.2% chance at staying at twelfth, the Thunder ended the night with the 12th overall pick.
On the first night of the draft, the Thunder selected Nikola Topić out of Crvena Zvezda in Serbia with the 12th pick. Coming out of Crvena zvezda, Topić averaged 15.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 5.9 assists, being named the ABA League Top Prospect Award winner. In the 2023 FIBA U18 European Championship, Topić led Serbia to the gold meal, scoring 24 points in the championship game.[3] Listed as 6'6", Topić drew comparisons to Josh Giddey and Goran Dragić as a big guard with excellent pace when driving to the basket and a great distributor.[4] The Thunder then traded five future second-round picks to the New York Knicks in exchange for the draft rights to Dillon Jones, the 26th overall pick. A four-year senior out of Weber State, Jones averaged 20.8 points on 48.9% shooting, 9.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.0 steals, finishing fifth in school history in points, third in rebounds, second in assists, and first in steals. In his last season, Jones led the Big Sky Conference in total points, defensive rebounds, and assists per games, being named the Big Sky Player of the Year.[5] In a series of trades made during the second day of the draft, the Thunder acquired the draft rights to Ajay Mitchell, the 38th overall pick, from the New York Knicks in exchange for the draft rights to Oso Ighodaro and cash considerations after first acquiring the draft rights to Quinten Post from the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Lindy Waters III and then acquiring the draft rights to Ighodaro from the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for the draft rights to Post and cash considerations.[6] Mitchell played three seasons for UC Santa Barbara, averaging 20.0 points on 50.4% shooting, being named to the All-Big West First Team and second in the Big West Conference in points per game last season. Described by having a solid frame, Mitchell is seen as a project player needing to work on his shooting form.[7]
For this offseason, free agency began on June 30, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. EST. Bismack Biyombo, Gordon Hayward, Mike Muscala were set to hit unrestricted free agency while two-way players Keyontae Johnson and Olivier Sarr were set to hit restricted free agency. In addition, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins had an upcoming team option heading into the season.[8] On June 29, the Thunder declined Isaiah Joe's and Aaron Wiggins's team option in order to work on long-term deals with Joe and Wiggins.[9] On July 1, it was reported that Isaiah Joe agreed to a four-year, $48 million contract to re-sign with the Thunder, which he later signed on July 7.[10] In two seasons, Joe averaged 8.8 points on 41.2% three-point shooting, ranking 18th in the league in three-point shooting. On the same day, it was reported that Aaron Wiggins agreed to a five-year, $47 million contract to re-sign with the Thunder, which he later signed on July 7. Originally from the 2021 NBA draft, Wiggins averaged 6.9 points, shooting a career-high 56.2% from the field and 49.2% from three-point range.[11]
On July 1, it was reported that Isaiah Hartenstein agreed to a three-year, $87 million contract with the Thunder, which he later signed on July 6.[12] Beginning his career with the Houston Rockets, Hartenstein developed with the Los Angeles Clippers and spent the last two seasons with the New York Knicks, starting 49 games for the Knicks following Mitchell Robinson's injury. During the 2023–24 season, Hartenstein averaged 7.8 points, 8.3 rebounds. 1.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks on 64.4% shooting. With Hartenstein, the Thunder addressed their rebounding issues after ranking 28th in the league in rebounding percentage.[13]
On June 21, the Thunder acquired Alex Caruso from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Josh Giddey.[14] Caruso, who started his professional career for the Oklahoma City Blue in the NBA G League, has been a two-time All-Defensive Team member, averaged a career-high 10.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.0 blocks on 46.8% shooting and 40.8% three-point shooting last season. Being honored the 2024 NBA Hustle Award, Caruso led the league in deflections per game and was the only player in the league to record 130-plus threes, 100-plus steals, and 70-plus blocks last season. With the emergence of Jalen Williams, Giddey averaged a career-low 12.3 points in only 25.1 minutes per game. Despite improving his three-point shooting, Giddey was inconsistent, resulting in defenses sagging off of him that led to head coach Mark Daigneault benching him during the 2024 NBA playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks.[15] Thunder general manager Sam Presti quoted that the Thunder planned to bring Giddey off the bench next season, however Giddey revealed he wasn't "overly eager."[14]
The Thunder participated in the 2024 Las Vegas Summer League following a 2–1 record in the Salt Lake City Summer League. Head coach Daniel Dixon announced that Ousmane Dieng will sit out in Las Vegas after playing three games in Utah, averaging 15.7 points on 34.6% shooting.[17]
