The Oklahoman

Which Thunder players have playoff experience?

- Justin Martinez

Playoff basketball is back in Oklahoma City.

The OKC Thunder (57-25) is set to make its first playoff appearance since the 2019-20 campaign. It'll be a new experience for plenty of players on the team, which entered the season with the second-youngest roster in the NBA.

OKC's players have made a combined 134 playoff appearance­s throughout their careers. Of all the playoff/ play-in teams, only Orlando (91 appearance­s) has a lower total.

With the first round of the playoffs set to begin on April 20, here's a look at which OKC players have postseason experience.

Which OKC Thunder players have playoff experience? Bismack Biyombo

Playoff game appearance­s: 40 OKC signed Biyombo to a minimum deal on Feb. 10.

The 31-year-old center has appeared in a team-high 40 playoff games throughout his 13-year career. Biyombo averaging 4.6 points and 6.1 rebounds in 18 minutes per game during that stretch.

Mike Muscala

Playoff game appearance­s: 35 OKC added some more experience when it signed Muscala on March 1.

The 32-year-old center has appeared in 35 playoff games throughout his 11-year career. Muscala is averaging 2.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in 8.5 minutes per game during that stretch.

Gordon Hayward

Playoff game appearance­s: 29

OKC acquired Hayward from Charlotte on Feb. 8 in exchange for Tre Mann, Vasilije Micic, Davis Bertans and two second-round picks, one in 2024 and one in 2025.

Hayward has appeared in 29 playoff games throughout his 14-year career. The 34-year-old forward is averaging 15 points and 4.6 rebounds in 33 minutes per game during that stretch.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Playoff game appearance­s: 13 Gilgeous-Alexander has appeared in 13 playoff games throughout his sixyear career, which is the most of OKC's starters.

Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 15.1 points and 4.1 rebounds in 34.8 minutes per game during that stretch. The 25-year-old guard was on OKC's 201920 team, which suffered a 4-3 series loss to Houston in the first round.

Isaiah Joe

Playoff game appearance­s: 11 Joe has appeared in 11 playoff games, all with Philadelph­ia, throughout his four-year career.

The 24-year-old guard is averaging 0.6 points and 0.2 rebounds in 2.2 minutes per game during that stretch, but he'll surely have a larger role this time around. Joe is averaging 8.2 points per game this season on a career-high 41.9% shooting from deep.

Lu Dort

Playoff game appearance­s: six Dort is the second and final OKC starter with playoff experience.

The 24-year-old guard has appeared in six playoff games throughout his five-year career, and all of them were against Houston in 2020. Dort averaged 12.5 points and 3.7 rebounds in 29.2 minutes per game as a rookie in the postseason.

 ?? BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN ?? Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) celebrates with Jalen Williams (8) during a game against Sacramento on Tuesday at Paycom Center.
BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) celebrates with Jalen Williams (8) during a game against Sacramento on Tuesday at Paycom Center.

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