Following a historic 24-1 start to the year, the OKC Thunder have fallen off in a major way over their last 12 games, going a mere 6-6 and enduring their lone two losing streaks of the campaign.
When it comes to this lackluster success rate, many factors have played a role. From their slew of injuries to being forced to play through four separate back-to-backs along the way, it's easy to see why they've struggled.
However, as far as on-court weaknesses are concerned, _The Athletic's_ Fred Katz couldn't help but [chastise Oklahoma City for their putrid shooting efforts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YodHOnUIyhI&t=283s) during a recent appearance on _The Zach Lowe Show._
_"Number one, the shooting has fallen off to an incredible degree. That's something that maybe we could have seen coming,"_ Katz said.
Thunder shooting production has reverted back to early season form
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As Katz would note in his assessment, the Thunder were [truly abysmal in the perimeter scoring department](https://thunderousintentions.com/okc-thunder-secret-advantage-make-them-even-more-unstoppable) during the early stages of the season, as they boasted the second-worst three-point shooting clip through all of October at 29.6 percent.
Then, once guys like Isaiah Joe and, eventually, Jalen Williams made their way back into the rotation after injury-induced delays to their season debuts, OKC found their production from long range soar to sensational heights, as they placed first in the association with a shooting percentage of 41.2 from November 1 all the way through December 10.
They would go 18-1 throughout this stretch.
Sadly, this tremendous efficiency has seemingly vanished over their last 12 outings, as they're shooting at the seventh-worst clip since December 13 (33.0).
It seems quite clear that there's a strong correlation between long-range shooting and the Thunder's win-loss record. This is not something that's specific only to this season.
Last year, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and company saw their three-point shooting efficiency drop from an impressive 38.1 percent in wins to a mediocre 34.3 percent in losses. In 2023-24, this drop off was even more stark, going from 41.2 percent in wins to 33.8 in losses.
Heck, a big reason for their upset ouster against the Mavericks during the 2024 postseason was due to their horrid long-range game, as they shot a league-worst 33.5 percent from deep in round two while Dallas cashed in on a second-best 39.7 percent clip.
Needless to say, in order for the Thunder to snap out of this rut, let alone have a chance to repeat as NBA Champions, they're going to need to find a way to up their productivity from beyond the arc.
Otherwise, as history suggests, the losses are only bound to continue piling up.