Your Oklahoma City Thunder have finally arrived but you won’t catch anyone on the team saying that. In fact, GM Sam Presti and Head Coach Scott Brooks have said very little and are allowing his team to speak for him. "I think with the type of players we have, and what Sam and Scott have put around us, we're all just cool, calm and collected. We all try to stay that way around here,” Guard Russell Westbrook said.
Calm, cool and collected indeed. After finishing with a 50-32 record last season, players feel that there is still much room to grow. "All we can worry about is getting better every day," Westbrook said. "We know we've been under the radar for a while. People know us a little better now, but we've got to stay humble and stay with what we're doing."
Look for your Oklahoma City Thunder to be in the thick of the Western Conference Race so be sure to get out and get your tickets before they are all sold out!
The Oklahoma City Thunder opened their 2nd Season in the NBA with a new head coach and a new attitude. After beginning their inaugural season 23-59 the Thunder are taking 2009/10 by storm. As of this writing, the team has a record of 20-16, and is sitting just outside the playoff window in a very tough Western Conference. Led by 2nd year player Kevin Durant leading the team with a 29.1 point per game average is now being helped by Russell Westbrook (16.3 ppg) and Jeff Green, who is averaging 14 points a game. In the offseason, the Thunder picked up SG James Harden with the 3rd overall pick and French Point Guard Rodrigue Beaubois with the 25th overall pick.
The history of the Oklahoma City Thunder came with the franchise once it left Seattle but the team agreed to leave the Supersonics name, logo and colors for a future NBA Team. The franchise as the Seattle Supersonics began in the 1967 season with the team taking the court for its first game, a 144-116 loss. Future Hall of Fame player/coach Lenny Wilkins joined the team the following season where he averaged 24.0 ppg and 11.5 rpg. The following season, Wilkins replaced head coach Al Bianchi as a player/coach and would have some success but the final breakthrough didn’t come until the 1978/79 season under new Head Coach Bob Hopkins. Led by Fred Brown, the Supersonics took out the Phoenix Suns in 7 games to meet the Washington Bullets in the NBA Finals. The team would be led by Gus Williams and Finals MVP Dennis Johnson, center Jack Sikma with forwards John Johnson and Lonnie Shelton. Paul Silas and Fred Brown made significant contributions off the bench and to date, this is the only championship
won by the franchise. The franchise rolled into the 80’s and saw many individual honors and awards as Fred Brown won the NBA’s 1st Three Point Shooting Title in the 1979/80 season, Jack Sikma won back to back All Star Appearances and both Gus Williams and Dennis Johnson were named to the All NBA Second team and Johnson earned back to back All NBA First Team Defensive Team honors. Williams would sit out the 1980/81 season which helped to send the Sonics into last place in the division. He would return the next season and help bring the team back to their winning ways but could not get the team into the playoffs. The team was sold in October 1983 to Barry Ackerman and Fred Brown, after playing his entire career in Seattle, retired. Lenny Wilkins then left the organization at the end of the 1984/85 season. Jack Sikma would be traded at the conclusion of the 1985/86 season leaving not one member of the Championship Team. Towards the end of the 80’s, Tom Chambers picked up the NBA
All Star Game MVP Award in 1987 as he, sharpshooter Dale Ellis and Xavier McDaniels led the team to an improbable march into the Western Conference Finals. In the final season of the decade, the Sonics managed a 47-35 record and pushed as far as the 2nd round of the Western Conference playoffs.
The 90’s saw the arrival of Shawn Kemp (1989) and Gary Payton (1990). George Karl, fresh from a coaching stint in Spain (coaching Real Madrid), joined the Sonics and the franchise began an upward swing that would eventually lead them back to the NBA Finals in 1996 when the 64-18 Sonics went up against Michael Jordan and the 72-10 Chicago Bulls. The Bulls would win in six games but the Sonics would continue to be a force in the Western Conference through the end of the decade. In 1998, Defensive Specialist Nate McMillan retired from basketball and at George Karl and the franchise management became estranged and Karl was dismissed and replaced with Paul Westphal who lasted less than two seasons to be replaced by former Sonic Nate McMillan. McMillan would last until 2005 when he jumped ship to take the head coaching position with the Portland Trailblazers. Gary Payton would be traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2003 which, not so coincidentally, ended the franchise streak of 11 seasons playing
+ .500 ball.
In 2006, the franchise failed to come to terms with the City of Seattle on the upgrading of Key Arena and the team’s ownership group (led by Howard Schultz) sold the franchise to Clayton Bennett and an investment group who also tried to persuade the city to fund $500 million for a complex but failed. In the 2007 draft, the Supersonics were awarded the 2nd overall pick which they used to pick up Texas guard Kevin Durant and in June of 07, traded Ray Allen for Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West, agreed to a sign and trade with the Orlando Magic for Rashard Lewis. On July 20, the team acquired Kurt Thomas and two first round draft picks from the Phoenix Suns.
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