The Oklahoma City Thunder are one of the greatest what-ifs of the 2010s of the NBA. The Thunder are also maybe even the greatest “what-if” in NBA History. Looking back, it’s crazy to think that just six years ago, Oklahoma City were just four wins away from possibly being the next great NBA Dynasty.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Rise To Prominence
The fact that Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden were once all on the same team, I can’t help but think about what could’ve been. When you talk about a team that was on the rise, from the players, to coaches, and overall buzz, they had it all.
The 2012 Thunder lineup consisted of Westbrook, Thabo Sefolosha, Durant, Serge Ibaka, and Kendrick Perkins. That was the original death lineup. After losing to the eventual champion teams in the previous two seasons (Lakers, Mavericks), they would ironically meet each of them in the 2012 playoffs And they handled them pretty easily.
Going into the NBA Finals, the Thunder were actually favored to win it all over the Lebron James-led Miami Heat. But the Heat would take care of the Thunder in a deceivingly close five games.
Sudden Fall, Rise, Then Fall
The following season, many including myself, thought that Oklahoma City would be back hell-bent and hungry. But then they went and traded Harden to the Houston Rockets for Kevin Martin and a pick. That pick would eventually turn into Steven Adams. I guess in a way, it helped and at the same time hurt the Thunder.
Because while they were able to get better defensively, it eventually became clear that they could’ve used that offensive boost because they hadn’t given Harden enough floor time. You see, the Thunder thought it would be better to sign Ibaka. At first, it looked like it was the better option because the Thunder improved the following season. They also secured the #1 seed in the Western Conference.
Oklahoma City would face off against none other than.. you guessed it, the Rockets. Houston, obviously, looks nothing like they look now. But the Thunder took care of the Rockets in six games. Oklahoma City would also go on to lose Westbrook for the rest of the playoffs after colliding knees with Patrick Beverly. In the next round, they got dusted by the Memphis Grizzlies in five games. I bet by that time they regretted trading Harden.
Over the course of the next three seasons, Durant and Westbrook elevated their statuses to two of the top 10 players in the NBA. The Thunder, in general, would get even better as a team. But not before running into a WAY better 2014 Spurs team in the WCF and spoiling Durant’s MVP season.
Then losing Durant for most of the 2014-15 season from that same foot injury that crippled him in the playoffs last year caused them to miss the playoffs from only something that happens in a movie:
Going into the 2016 season, Durant was in the last year of his contract with the Thunder. The Thunder front office fired Scott Brooks and hired Billy Donovan, who coached the Florida Gators. Oklahoma City actually looked A LOT better than that Oklahoma City team from four years earlier.
Durant and Westbrook were entering their prime, and Donovan actually put together a long, athletic starting five that could defend your best lineup. They also could give you buckets from perimeter to the wing. This was probably OKC’s last hope keeping Durant.
The only problem was that there was another franchise that had been lurking in the shadows. And that team was the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors just came off of a title run in the 2015-16 season. But many (including me) thought that they had the easiest path through the Western Conference and the NBA Finals because of injuries to the other teams.
But in the 2016-17 season? Oh, they put that to bed quickly. Going 73-9 and shattering the 96′ Bulls’ regular-season record. The Warriors and Thunder would go on to meet in the Western Conference Finals in what would be the most pivotal, head-scratching series in NBA History.
Oklahoma City would somehow end up losing to the Warriors after going up 3-1 in the series. Feel free to read that sentence over if you’d like. After watching game four, I was certain Oklahoma would close the Warriors out in game five or six. But when you look back at everything, some cases of bad coaching and hero ball played a key role in the Thunder’s collapse.
By now, you should know what happens. The Warriors go on to blow a 3-1 lead in the Finals to the Cavaliers and get Durant in Free Agency. Oklahoma City traded Ibaka to the Orlando Magic for Victor Oladipo, which turned the Thunder into a one-dimensional defensive team.
Durant’s move to Golden State rocked the balance of the NBA. To this day, it’s also still looked at as one of, if not THE weakest move by a superstar. I’m sure the Thunder could’ve come back the following season to challenge had Durant stayed.
But rumors were swirling around that he was fed up with Sam Presti trading Harden. Also, rumors about Durant not being sold on coach Donovan, and rumors about him getting tired of playing second fiddle to Westbrook. The truth is no one will ever know why Durant truly left except him.
As for the Thunder, the front office could never build a solid team around Westbrook. Despite Westbrook winning the MVP in 2017, adding Paul George and Carmelo Anthony, the Thunder couldn’t make it out of the first round. The three post-Durant seasons in Oklahoma City were definitely disappointing.
A New Storm Coming?
After a buzzer-beater first round exit at the hands of Damian Lillard and the Blazers this past season, the Thunder parted ways with Westbrook and George both via trade. It also means the Durant, Westbrook, and Harden era officially is over. In the midst of trading George to the Clippers and Westbrook to the Rockets, Oklahoma City and their fans have a lot to look forward to.
From the Clippers, the Thunder received the 2021,2022,2023,2024, and the 2026 first-round picks in the NBA Draft. They also acquired Danilo Gallinari and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the deal. And from the Rockets, they got Houston’s 2024 and 2026 first-round picks, on top of getting Chris Paul.
The Thunder are well set up to bring competitive basketball back to Oklahoma City. But they have to play their cards right. They can build around Gilgeous-Alexander and Steven Adams if they chose to. Or they can build strictly around Gilgeous Alexander. The Thunder, however, have plans of starting Chris Paul at the start of the season, but I do not see them keeping Paul around forever.
Oklahoma City has endured one of the strangest decades that I’ve ever seen in recent sports history. But with a little luck, maybe they’ll get it right this time.
