Oklahoma City, OK – The OKC Thunder will embark on their first playoff run with this new iteration of the team Sunday night when they welcome the Pelicans and there aren’t many people that truly believe in them.
And it’s all because of their age.
At 23.9 years old, the Thunder are the second youngest team in the league and the youngest 1 seed in NBA history. They only have four guys on the roster (Mike Muscala, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, & Gordon Hayward) who have playoff experience and head coach Mark Daigneault has never been the head coach of a playoff team. They do lack some size in the front court but the biggest reason for people not believing in them is because of their age and lack of playoff experience.
There is a strong belief in the NBA that young teams can’t make deep runs in the playoffs. They need that experience of that first loss before they can really make a run. That’s just the way a lot of people feel. And to be fair, that’s how it’s been for the majority of young teams. This recent Warriors dynasty is the most recent example of a team that was young and went through a couple of playoff heartbreaks before getting over the hump to win a Championship.
The same could be true for the Thunder. Only time will tell if it is.
They could also be an outlier. A team of destiny.
OKC has defied all of the odds by just becoming the youngest 1 seed ever and they could very well go on a very deep playoff run this year. How can that happen though?
Three simple words.
Zero and Zero.
That is the motto the Thunder have been using for the past few years. During their time of rebuild to now. Time and time again before or after a game, after a practice, during a shoot around, Mark Daigneault and the players will talk about getting back to “zero and zero.”
What does that saying mean though?
For the Thunder, it simply means, the last game is in the past and they have to get back to even no matter what. Don’t get too high after a big win and don’t get too low after a bad loss. That simple saying has been a big part of their success. It’s part of their identity.
“90% of the preparation [for the playoffs] is in your identity” head coach Mark Daigneault says when asked about the importance of the zero and zero mentality in the playoffs.
“We need to be a team that’s present in the completion,” Mark continues. “Every single time we get an opportunity to compete. Part of that right now is understanding that the regular season is over. The games have helped us forge an identity and they’ve given us an idea of how we play against New Orleans [Pelicans] and how New Orleans plays against us but now it’s a new season and a new series and the better team will win.”
That simple saying has allowed them to navigate through things the last few years. When they got beat by an NBA record 73 points at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies a couple of years ago, it was let’s get back to zero and zero. When they beat the Portland Trailblazers by a franchise record 62 points earlier this season, it was the same thing.
For a young team, it’s really important for them to have that strong base because it’s easy to get very high or low. Especially being young and less experienced than the rest of the league.
This isn’t something that Mark Daigneault started though. He did in a way but the essence and saying of this came from Mr. Thunder, Nick Collison himself.
“I remember. Collison says when asked if he remembers coming up with the saying. ” In the playoffs against the Mavs.
It was said a little differently [as he laughs] but the message is the same.”
The inception of the “zero and zero” can be traced back to April 21st, 2016. The Thunder had just beat the Dallas Mavericks 131-102 to take a 2-1 lead in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. The series was still in Dallas for game four so after their win, Collison reminded the team that they can’t get too high because the Mavs were in fact still at home.
“I said the ‘a happy team gets their ass kicked,'” as Nick Collison laughs while explaining what he said to the team.
“It was mainly getting the guys to try to stay even. Not get too high and not get too low. A team coming off of a loss will be a little more locked in to try and get a win. So as the winning team I wanted to remind the guys that we can’t get too happy.
I didn’t want us to get too happy considering the series wasn’t over with them being at home.
Like I said, it was said differently but the concept is definitely the same.”
https://twitter.com/BasketballGuruD/status/1749542112322814018
The Thunder didn’t get too high and they went on to win the next two games and win the series 4-1.
Was it what Collison told them that allowed them to win the series in a gentleman’s sweep? Who knows but Mark Daigneault was in the room and what Collison said in 2016 is echoed everywhere there Thunder are today. That simple saying that Collison probably didn’t even realize would be so profound today is a big reason why the Thunder have a chance to make a deep run in this year’s playoffs despite their youth and lack of experience.
It’s important and they know it.
“It’s extremely important.” Thunder center Chet Holmgren says when asked about the importance of “zero and zero” in the playoffs.
“Playoffs are a time of huge swings. You can’t let the swing of things allow your emotions to run wild in one direction or another good or bad.”
– Chet Holmgren on the importance of the Thunder “Zero and Zero” mindset in the playoffs pic.twitter.com/pHIxoDkUux
— The Daniel Bell© (@BasketballGuruD) April 20, 2024
“Playoffs are a time of huge swings. You can’t let the swing of things allow your emotions to run wild in one direction or another good or bad.”
Even though Chet has never played in a playoff game, he knows the importance of that motto. He knows how something so simple could be so big.
In the playoffs, teams and players have to adjust to the adjustment that’s an adjustment to the adjustment. It’s high pressure and a lot of stress. You could lose the first game at home or go down 0-2. It could be the opposite of those things. Going up 2-0 or winning the first game at home. No matter what though, the series isn’t over until it is. It is very important to not to get too high which could cause you to get overly confident or too low where you don’t have any faith in yourself.
The young Thunder team knows that. It’s something they’ve practiced all season and something they’re doubling down on.
“I feel like it’s going to be very important.” Cason Wallace mentions when asked how important their zero and zero mindset is going to be in the playoffs.
“I feel like we’ve been doing good with that all year. We’re going to just keep doubling down on everything we’ve been doing.”
Who knows where the Thunder would be without this saying.
Them being this good might be canon.
One thing is for certain though, they’re going to use that motto during this playoff run every night and it could be just as successful for them in the playoffs as it was in the regular season.
