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Oklahoma City Thunder · Home to one of the most forward-thinking front offices across the NBA landscape, the Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t necessarily need confirmation in their ability to rebuild and develop, but the 2024 NBA Playoffs will provide one anyways. Snagging history all throughout 2023-24, the Thunder will enter April’s postseason with league history’s youngest No. 1 seed, with an average age of just 23.9. Pair the Thunder’s elite clutch-game win percentage (63 percent, fifth-best) with the fact that nearly half of their team’s minutes (41 percent) came from players in Year One and Year Two, and you have a team unafraid of any moment or big stage. With veteran-laden teams across the Play-In stage, eyeing the No. 8 spot, they will have ample time to prove it. The year’s headliner was Most Valuable Player candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who matched shifty, three-level bucket-getting with an aura to match as the NBA’s No. 3-ranked scorer. With an equally-fearless group behind him, second-year star Jalen Williams serves as a player to watch, No. 2 among all second-year players in scoring (19.0), alongside future All-Rookie Team selection Chet Holmgren, Josh Giddey, and others. · State of Mint