Not only did the Oklahoma City Thunder win the NBA Finals last season, as there is an annual winner, but they gave the rest of the Western Conference countless reasons to look at their roster and sit in awe. Sam Presti set a high standard, and teams like the Denver Nuggets followed, with quality offseason additions around their superstar center, Nikola Jokic.
However, based on each team’s flaws and weaknesses, the Nuggets took distinct features from Oklahoma City, and the LA Clippers used a different route. LA does not have the best isolation scorer in the world, like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but their easily exposed big man rotation was something Frank addressed, using the Thunder as the blueprint.