In this study, we explore the value added by application of basin modeling to seismic reservoir characterization in a structurally complex area. We focus on the Thunder Horse minibasin in the Gulf of Mexico. First, we build a two-dimensional basin model along the strike direction of the main structure in the area to investigate differences in pressure and thermal histories. The results suggest differences in both histories across the study area, and these differences can be reasonably assessed by basin modeling even with a single well calibration. We combine basin modeling results with rock physics models to build a training data set of seismic impedance derived lithofacies. The training data set thus captures spatial trends in the desired property beyond available well data. In addition, we demonstrate how to improve the seismic inversion results by integrating the basin modeling insights with limited well data. Our new workflow combining basin modeling output with rock physics and impedance-based lithofacies prediction significantly improves the predicted spatial distribution of reservoir lithofacies in the scenarios of spatially limited well control.