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It's hard to believe but 10 years ago this franchise was believed to be blessed beyond their wildest dreams. They had 3 young, up-and-coming franchise stars to build around and they were going to take over the league once the likes of Kobe, Duncan, and Dirk among others stepped down. That 2010 playoff series against the Lakers was their official introduction to the world that they were going to be a force to be reckoned with.
They end up going out with just one Western Conference championship, no NBA Championship. Golden State became what the Thunder were supposed to be, a dynasty.
Are they the biggest "what-if?" in NBA history? Where would you rank them among other "what-ifs?" like the 90's Orlando Magic?
It’s time to take a second and write the obituary for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
History will likely not be kind to their mid-2010s run well since the team built to be a contender fell short during its prime and lost the pieces that made it one of the must-watch teams of its era.
There was Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, the centerpieces who figured out how to play beautifully together as the 1A and 1B options, scoring at will on opponents. There was young James Harden, the 2011-12 Sixth Man of the Year — he was the team’s THIRD OPTION!! Serge Ibaka was at his best as a relentless rim protector. There were roll players like Jeff Green, Thabo Sefolosha and Reggie Jackson who were a part of those teams. In hindsight, knowing what we know now, they should have won a championship.
This was a classic case of "sum of their parts" is actually less than the whole.
Many aren't familiar with the NBA of the 70s but this team was kind of like that. The iso ball type play, you don't know who's going to 'take over' but at the same time, take their fellow team member out of rhythm and thus out of the game. To me, Durant was the central force of that group, but he was a bit too timid and Westbrook just too much of a basketcase. Harden seems to have picked up this mentality from Westbrook somehow as it's known he gets upset if he doesn't fully control the ball.
But seeing how they keep getting knocked out in the playoffs, it might knock some sense in them. But very hard to change.. especially considering this is Harden's team while Westbrook is probably the most dunce superstar out there.
I heard a pundit discuss this the other day. He pointed out that OKC has also had several good players cycle thru their roster, including Paul George, Victor Oladipo, and Serge Ibaka.
The biggest disappointment since the 1990s for sure. I agree with the "whole less than the sum of its parts" argument, but if the core had been kept together, it is tough to see them not breaking through and making, if not winning, at least one NBA Championship.
Harden and Westbrook get a redo now, let's see if the second attempted star pairing between these two brings results.
California and Texas dominate the Western Conference. The last time those WC states didn't win a championship was 40 years ago, with 1979's Seattle Sonics. It would have been nice to see OKC break the streak, instead of disbanding the core to save money.
All three have fragile massive glass egos. Too much "me first" ahead of the team. Durant is a little different but someone who creates a bunch of fake social media accounts to go after random internet critics is not the hallmark of a strong psyche........
2000 - 2002 Kings
Vince & T Mac Raptors * 98 - 2000
05 - 07 Phoenix Sun's
07 - 08 Rockets, Yao & Tmac
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